Chasing the Enigma
by Tarante
Summary: Kagome discovers an L placed into a drastic situation by Kira amidst her new demon exterminating lifestyle after the Feudal Era. His oddity bewilders her but as she soon discovers, he desperately needs her help to take down Kira once and for all...KagxL
1. Prologue

_This is my first story on this site. I look forward to writing the rest of this little tale. The rating is to be safe.  
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**Obligatory disclaimer: I really don't own anything mentioned in this story at all. **

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><p><em>Prologue:<em>

Walking along the streets of the crowded city always reminded her of how mundane her life could have turned out to be. Above her, the large screens blared out advertisements and news feeds of current events. As the crowd pulled her along the sidewalks, she channeled her attention towards the blaring voice of the current man on the screen. It was one of the newscasters for channel 23 reporting once more the latest victims of a figure known as Kira.

Kagome bit down on the candy bar she had just purchased. Always on the news, it was all about Kira Kira Kira. Licking her lips, she chanced another bite. Oh, and that L detective too. The ultimate showdown between evil and justice, where sacrifices, love and honor are put on the line-

Snickering at her train of thought, she chomped on the rest of her treat. All of those matters were far too cliché for her liking. It wasn't something that concerned her so she wouldn't get too wrapped up in it.

Besides, she hadn't done anything wrong (in this time anyway) so she had nothing to fear from the so-called Kira.

A man bumped into her shoulder, and she stumbled a bit from the impact. She directed her piercing blue gaze upon the man, but he had already long disappeared into the crowd. Grumbling at the rudeness of it all, her mind drifted back to the reason she had been out for a night walk in the first place.

Placing a firm hand on the strap resting on her shoulder, the raven haired girl squinted. Spiritual beings were always so much harder to detect when they blended in with the crowd. A large hissing sound caught her attention in front of her, and she panicked as she saw a giant snake's body quickly slithering away from the crosswalk, blood trailing from its scaly onto the ground.

She acted quickly, pulling her bow from her sword pouch and notching an arrow onto the taut string. People around her started screaming as the priestess pulled out her weapon. Realizing her mistake, she cursed and took off after the beast – causing a major disruption in traffic as she was nearly rammed several times by incoming cars.

"Sorry – _eek! _I'm so sorry!" The young woman squealed as she narrowly avoided death.

Legs working hard to keep up with the scaly demon, she inwardly thanked her days in the feudal era for making her so fit. Noting the scenery changes around her as she ran for the escaping monster, she was relieved to see that it was heading toward Midori Park. Perfect, people were never around at this time. Less people meant fewer casualties. Sango would have been proud.

"You're mine now." She whispered into the night, pulling the bowstring back and letting an arrow loose. Her holy energy flared just as she fired the projectile, giving the demon time to contort its body and dodge it. The arrow embedded itself in the tree trunk, giving off a small flash of light. Stopping in her tracks, Kagome narrowed her eyes. So the demon wasn't all snake – its top half resembled a naked human woman, and bore a striking similarity to Miss Centipede.

Her sapphire eyes flashed with different emotions as she recalled her short time with the other female monstrosity; awe, curiosity, sadness, and anger.

Kagome smiled bitterly. Notching another arrow, she looked directly into its eyes and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Hey ugly!" It flinched at her yell before screaming in pain as the arrow hit its mark; stabbing the demon right in the chest, sealing it to a tree. The priestess sighed in relief before suddenly realizing just how far she had run. Chest heaving, she walked up to the trapped monster, arrow in hand. It glared at her, hissing in pain. Blood spurted from the wound she had inflicted, and she was careful not to touch it.

"I dispel you to whence you came, demon." She coughed out with surprisingly firm eyes. Plunging the final blow into the snake demon's head, it exploded into pieces. She stood there for a moment with her eyes closed to make sure none of the... corpse dust got in her eyes.

"I will _never_ get used to that." She murmured under her breath, brushing the remaining snake demon powder off her clothes. "Better than blood anyway." One thing was for sure, mom wouldn't take it well if she went home soaked in blood.

Stretching in victory, she groaned in satisfaction. "And so today ends the demon hunt." Lately, there had been news reports of people dying with strange marks on their bodies – their flesh torn from their body in a cruel manner. Many people blamed a strange serial killer named BB (whoever that guy was)– but the priestess had known better. It was incredibly obvious, well to her at least, that a demon had created those bite marks.

Kagome sighed before yanking the lone arrow out of the tree with all her might, falling backwards from the effort. And there she lay, covered in dirt and dust, pondering her life. These demon-slaying days would never end for her would they? Ever since she had been promptly dragged into that Bone-Eater's Well, her life had never been the same. She wondered sometimes if she would have been happier not living the way she was now. Placing the weapon back into her pouch, she turned heel to go back the direction she came from, and then stopped dead.

A panicked expression came upon her face. _Fudgesicles. _Which way had she come from?

Her eyes darted around for any familiar landscape, but it was far too dark to see anything past an outstretched arm. The outline of numerous trees dominated her vision. Stepping into the forest nervously, she gulped as owl hooted loudly in the air, causing the trees to rustle. Whimpering slightly, she chided herself. She was a priestess that could take down a Snake Demon, a kitsune, and maybe a gremlin or two (albeit with some lucky shots), but she couldn't face something like this?

It was times like these that she wished demons would just leave her cellphone alone. _Every damn time, they destroy it. What's up with that? _

Trodding even faster into the forest, she let out a frightened squeak as she stumbled into a bush, the rustling sound echoing throughout the park. _Best day ever. Hands down._

She warily looked to her left to see if anyone was there. Finding nothing, she cast her gaze to the right. A pasty white humanoid figure was crouching on a park bench, pushing a pale thumb against its lips, dressed in a long white shirt and blue jeans. At the sound of her movements, it cast its eyes her way.

She couldn't help it. She screamed shrilly.

Backing away from the apparition, she feebly fumbled for her bow. This-this-this _guy_ was even scarier than Sadako from the ring! _Hell, _he even _looked _like her too! His bulging black eyes observed her carefully, gauging her reaction. Finally, he broke the stalemate.

"Why hello there." He greeted her pleasantly albeit with a monotone voice, as if it wasn't 3 AM, and she had been greeting him amidst a pleasant walk in the park.

"You...you..." She stuttered, quickly regaining control of the situation and her mind, "I...human?"

He looked down at her with those ghoulish eyes and nodded his head. Her sapphire eyes followed the movement of his jet black spiky hair. Kagome's body visibly relaxed. Swiftly realizing that she had just been extremely rude to someone she had just met, a pink flush took over her cheeks.

"I'm _so _sorry." She said, regret filling ever word, "I didn't mean to scream. I thought you were a..." She bit her lip, realizing that saying it would have made it worse. Standing up, she bowed to the curious man.

He said nothing for a few seconds before taking his finger off his teeth. "A ghost?"

"Er..." Kagome could say nothing to dispute that.

He paused. "My complexion is quite ghastly." The young man agreed with her. He suddenly took note of her choice of luggage. "Arrows? It's far too late for any archery club practice, isn't it?" The priestess blinked.

"Oh, these silly things?" She laughed it off nervously, trying to think of an excuse fast, "My friend borrowed them from me before. She gave them back to me today." Proud of such a good excuse, she stuck to it. Her entire figure passed under his disbelieving eyes.

"I see." Was all he said before he stood up from his sitting place. The raven haired girl winced. He even walked like a ghoul with his back hunched over.

"Why are you out here so late?" She found herself asking out of pure curiosity. "And why do you sit like that..." The young woman had seen her fair share of oddities even in the supernatural area, but this guy took the weirdo ball and ran with it. "Doesn't it hurt?" His feet – oh _wow_ he didn't wear shoes – looked dirty and blistered.

He only put his face up close to hers, observing her guarded eyes. "I think better this way. My deduction capabilities would be reduced by 40%." He ignored her initial question, and started his inspection. Walking around her, he eyeballed her like a dog observed another dog. She could only fidget at his actions. Why was she still sticking around? This guy could be a serial killer for all she knew.

"Uhm...I'll have to be getting back now then. My... mafia boyfriend...is waiting for me back in my apartment..." She nearly facepalmed at the completely obvious lie she had told. She couldn't lie to save her life. Possibly literally at the moment.

Placing his thumb back against his mouth, he casually observed her for another moment. As she walked ahead to try to shake him off, he called out to her in his monotone voice.

"Wait."

She froze, turning to face him again. Her inquisitive eyes met with his void irises.

He went back to the bench and patted it with an ashen hand. "Please, sit."

The priestess looked at him disbelievingly, and the words just slipped out of her mouth. "How do I know you're not going to try to do anything harmful to me?"

He seemed to take that as a joke, albeit a bad one. A small smirk crept up on his face, further giving her the spooks. You have a point." He paused momentarily, "But if I was going to kill you I would have done so earlier while you were making a ruckus in the forest with your whimpering."

A blush elevated on her face from embarrassment. "Oh, so you heard all that..." Eyeing him cautiously, she told him, "I'll stay here, thanks. If you make any suspicious movements, I'll..." Fumbling for a decent threat, she pulled out an arrow and made a vague gesture that looked like a stabbing motion with it.

A small chuckle made its way from his pale lips as he stared at her, utterly fascinated. "You're quite interesting, aren't you?" Under his eager, somewhat childish gaze, she was worn down. "Not quite the brightest though." He continued, watching as her facial expression changed from shock, to anger, to mortification.

"Wha-what was it that you made me stay for?" She huffed out, her lips set in a soft pout. "If you're so quick to insult me like that, I may as well leave!" Folding her arms in indignation, she kept a wary eye on the man now wearing what seemed to be a secretive smile on his face.

He stared at her. "Ahhh." He said suddenly, "That's right. What was your name?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Uhm..." Well, it wouldn't hurt to just give her first name, she supposed. "Kagome. It's Kagome." Adjusting the strap of her arrow case uncomfortably, she retorted, "What's yours?"

"Must I give it?" He cocked his head.

"I gave you mine, you give me yours." She replied, already slightly annoyed. Who did this guy think he was anyway?

The ghoulish man looked up at the sky as if in thought. "I suppose it would be good manners." He directed his line of sight back to the priestess. "I am L."

She quickly picked up on the reference. Kagome raised a brow. "Like the detective? L? Versus Kira?" Honestly, she found it hard to believe that a man like him was a famous detective. "You're not lying to get out of this, are you?"

He only said mysteriously, "Well, who knows." His dark eyes followed a leaf that was falling the surroundings, and Kagome found her interest peaked by this man. At first glance he had scared her – she had even thought he could hurt her. But perhaps he was just lonely?

"Heh, well you don't exactly fit what I was imagining." She told him, mirth in her blue eyes. "Maybe if you..." She looked him up and down, from his mystically dark eyes to his toes rubbing against one another, "...changed your wardrobe a little."

He merely continued watching the little leaf make its journey towards the ground as if the priestess hadn't spoken at all. Finally he said definitively, "My appearance does not affect my thinking capacity. Thus, I see no reason to meddle with it."

Not knowing how else to respond, she merely nodded. Tugging on her sword pouch, she waved at him half-heartedly, turning to leave. "I'll be off now. My mother is probably worried sick about me. It was...nice meeting you." She headed off to (what she hoped) the direction of her house.

"So your mafia boyfriend lives with you and your mother?" She could _feel_ the smirk rolling off L, even with her back towards him.

Actually face palming this time, she yelled back at him, her face starting to become enveloped in a beet red color, "Who would tell _you_?" She stomped off; swearing brilliantly as she nearly caught her foot in a branch once more.

L observed the blazing trail she made in his opposite direction and bit his thumbnail once more. "What a very interesting woman." He noted aloud to himself. "Perhaps I shall have her help me..."

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><p><em>Thanks for reading up to the end of this initial chapter! Any type of review, or constructive criticism is much appreciated!<em>


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Many thanks to everyone who read the prologue of this story! I hope that this chapter entertains as well.  
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**Also, thanks to the reviewers! I'll try my best to respond to them at the beginning of every chapter. **

**Applejax XD: Thanks a lot! They may, quite possibly, although perhaps in a completely different way than expected? **

**KEdakumi: Haha, I hope this chapter definitely doesn't disappoint then. **

**Geniusly-Unique: In this story, I've made her to be a notoriously hit or miss liar - mafia probably doesn't scare L at this point anyway though, hehe.**

**midnight98: Thanks - I'll do my best to update chapters often.  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and their respective worlds. **

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><p><em>Chapter 1:<em>

A shrill ringing sound echoed in her ears. Grumbling sleepily, Kagome slammed a hand down on the snooze button of the alarm clock. Hugging her pillow, she blinked repeatedly, trying to get all the sleepy out of her. Birds chirped outside her window, causing her to groan.

"Ok world, I'm up..."

Hobbling out of bed, the priestess stifled a yawn. Quickly throwing on her clothes for the day, she made her way down to the kitchen. She could use a cup of instant coffee to wake her up. Starting to boil the water, she peered outside her kitchen window. Just another bright and sunny day – this area had been getting a lot of that. Yawning once more, she poured herself a cup of the delightful stimulant, placing the lone cup on her small dinner table. Regardless of what she had told that...ghoul-man earlier, she didn't actually live with anyone so any major furniture accessories were pointless. Taking a sip of her morning drink, she winced at how hot it was. Then she jolted upright.

Guy? So she actually hadn't been dreaming that? Rubbing her eyes, she thought back on what had happened yesterday. Flashes of her demon searching flickered through her mind before resting on the man she had met. She struggled for words to describe him. He had been a bit odd, and his appearance was beyond relatively normal, but not quite demonic either... further details of that encounter sprung into her mind, and she banged her head against the desk in frustration.

She had given him her name! _Stupid stupid stupid_! She should have been more careful with the information she had given! If he really was a rapist/pervert, he may have been able to trace her back through her name! And...and...wasn't Kira supposed to kill with names? Straightening her back all of a sudden, her face twisted up in fear.

_What if he had been Kira?_

_Oh dear god was she ever awake now._

Tossing around the idea in her mind, she gulped. Well, considering she wasn't dead yet, she supposed he may not have been? Besides, didn't he only kill criminals...?

Her gaze wandered around the room as she tried to calm herself. Her eyes rested on the time on her microwave clock and she yelped. "Late? I can't be late!" Fiercely gulping down the rest of her caffeine, she practically sprinted out the door. Her work shift started in half an hour, and she couldn't afford to let her boss slam on her for being tardy.

Dashing down the steps of her apartment floor, she jumped the fence for her regular shortcut. As she landed, a large piece of paper flew into her face, causing the young miko to panic. Ripping the offending article off her person, she saw that it was the front page of a newspaper. Kagome glanced at the headline before continuing with her original fast pace. Crumbling the newspaper, she threw it aside. More deaths by heart attack, this time of a man who didn't seem to be a menace at all. She wondered if he was secretly a criminal – his picture had looked like such an innocent old man... A soft sigh escaped her lips as she turned a corner. The world really was so deceiving wasn't it?

Not that she could talk – she had her fair share of secrets. This nightly routine of demon slaying was a huge secret from her friends and most of the people in her life; with the exception of her family. After the Bone-Eaters Well, her time portal to the past, had suddenly closed the monsters had stirred from their hiding places in the world to prey on humans once more. Why that had happened, she had no clue. The Well? The Shikon no Tama? Either way, she didn't have time to think about the situation clearly – her lifestyle required constant energy spent on physical activities, leaving her exhausted by the end of the day.

Her eyes glazed over as her body automatically dashed down the street. The portal being inaccessible to her also meant she could never see her friends again. A sharp pain jabbed through her chest. No, no, no... she promised herself that she wouldn't dwell on that again. She had been doing so well to brush it out of her mind for two years, but now...

_Everyone..._

The memories stirred. That fox's mischievous nature, that monk's perverseness, that demon slayer's reliability, the half-demon's brash comments –

"Oof!"

The onyx haired girl fell backwards onto the curb as she collided into a lamp post. She rubbed her head, moaning in pain. Had she really spaced out that much, thinking about the feudal era again? Tears sprung into her eyes, and she was fairly sure that it wasn't from the physical pain. Internally cursing the tear ducts that had been suppressed for a while now, she rubbed the corners of her eyelids furiously. She had promised herself that she wouldn't cry again-

"Oh, it's you..." A deadpan voice greeted her with the enthusiasm of a lifeless fish. Kagome blinked. That voice... after a hesitant pause she looked upwards to see the man she had just recently run into.

"O-Oh...hello...nice to see you again." She stuttered politely, a forced smile making its way to her features. She blinked the tears away from her eyes. Surely their second meeting, like their first, was merely a coincidence. The priestess quickly noted her current location: on the ground, in front of that same strange young man from last night, sprawled near the Xoco cake shoppe. Or was he stalking her...? Maybe he had found out she worked in this confectionery?

His eyes roved over her still form and puffy red eyes. "I suppose." He turned his attention back towards the window case, eyeing the numerous cakes lying on the shelf. She took note of the blank look on his face, confused.

"...Do you like sweets?" She inquired, much against her better judgment. He peered back at her, his large eyes contemplating an answer. Scratching his hair, he replied, "I suppose you can say... I did? Or maybe rather, I do?" Sighing, he shoved his hands into his pockets in what Kagome assumed to be frustration.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Which is it, L?" Couldn't he make up his mind?

"Both, perchance." The mysterious man continued to ogle the sweets, "The strawberry desserts look especially ripe here." The young woman felt a giggle bubbling up at the tip of her throat. His current expression was nothing short of adorable.

He spared her another passing glance, reading her amused eyes. "And no, I was not following you. I stumbled upon this place by chance."

Kagome jumped. Was her face that transparent? Embarrassed that he knew of her rude suspicions, she quickly thought of a way to make amends. "I work here – would you like a tour of the sweets factory that is Xoco?" The miko offered, putting aside her initial worry of 'L's trustworthiness. Her weakness for cute things would be the death of her one day...

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a couple walk by, whispering in an alarmed manner whilst pointing in their general direction. She scowled at them. Just because 'L' was a little bit ... bizarre looking, it didn't give them any right to publicly mock him. Making up her mind, she grabbed his scrawny arm and hauled him inside the shop.

"Master!" She yelled over the counter, "Please get me your best strawberry shortcake! I'm paying!" Ignoring the odd looks she was getting from the few customers in the patisserie, she sat the so-called detective down into a seat. "It's on me today. I guess it's an apology for being so rude last night."

He stared at her unblinkingly, watching the hand she had on him, as if seeing her properly for the first time. Putting his free thumb to his lips, one of the corners of his mouth turned upwards. "Very interesting." He proceeded to sit _on _his chair, just as he had been last night on the park bench. Wiggling his toes gleefully, his facial expression contorted to one of thinly veiled delight.

She couldn't help but titter. "You-you're just like a kid."

'L' directed his gaze back to her blue irises and retorted, "Only as much as the one who dragged me headfirst into this shop." A cup of tea was placed in front of him by a handsome waiter with blond hair and blue eyes. Interested in this new development, L carefully sniffed the aroma of the drink.

"Len." Kagome greeted the worker, smiling reluctantly, "I'm sorry but can you cover me for a while?" She gestured at the tea-sniffer who was now piling sugar cubes onto the beverage with unabashed glee. Coming up with the best story in the heat of the moment, she cheerfully said, "I need to catch up with this guy, and it's been a while."

The waiter grimaced, "Kagome, Kagome..." He looked around before noting the current lack of clients to serve. "Alright, but you better get your butt to work in an hour." He made his way back to the kitchen complaining about troublesome female workers and their sickly pale boyfriends.

Kagome gave off a nervous chuckle. Well, Master Len didn't normally complain if she was paying for the sweets anyway... and besides, she was one of the rare – maybe the only - waitress that could put up with his attitude.

She noticed that she had been clinging on to the scrawny man for longer than she intended, and immediately let go, blushing. "I...I'm sorry. It's just... you looked like you needed cheering up..." Regardless of the fact that she _had_ thought him to be a possible serial rapist earlier...

'L' let out a tiny laugh. "Not necessary. I have no need for something like 'cheering up' right now." As he said this, he gave her a piercing look, causing her to wiggle in mild discomfort. Satisfied with her reaction, he began surveying the restaurant, finally pointing at the newspaper stack right next to the table. His only inquiry was: "Could you get one of those for me?"

She was taken off guard at his request, but ever the Good Samaritan, she complied, leafing through the different papers. "Would you prefer the National, or Local, or...?"

"All of them."

She shrugged and grabbed one of each.

Sitting back down, she offered the different choices to the detective. 'L' took advantage of her silence to grab the hand that held the newspapers and open the first one to the front page on the table. Inspecting the headlines, he came across an article that held his attention. He was rendered speechless, his large eyes widening even more than she thought possible before he let go of her hand.

"What, what?" Inquired the curious young priestess. Making her way over behind him, she peered over his shoulder, trying not to have direct contact with him, for Len may make the same wrong assumption about their relationship. She gave an 'ooh' when she saw that it had been the same newspaper that had been hurled into her face courtesy of the passing wind.

"_Quillsh Wammy, owner of an orphanage dies of a heart attack?_" She read the headline aloud, deep in thought, "Do you think it had anything to do with the Kira case? He looks like a completely ordinary man... " Kagome looked back at the somber man, disconcerted at his lack of words for her ignorance. Somehow, his hush worried her. "L...?"

A clatter on the table alerted her to her boss' presence with the sweets she had ordered. "Kagome, here's the finest damn slice of cake we have in the house." He glared at her, "But not _on _the house. Got it?"

The priestess laughed gaily, "Yes, yes, master. I'll be sure to take that out of my paycheck."

The tall waiter nodded his approval. "Good, see that you do." He hit her lightly with his notepad for emphasis, "And when your weird-ass friend gets back, tell him that he better come back for more."

Kagome blinked and croaked out, "When he...gets back?" She stared at the seat where 'L' sat. Her eyes roved over his shoulder blades and tousled hair. The frog-eyed man simply turned his head towards her and blinked, tilting his head with an innocent look on his face as if to say:

_**Do you get it now, you silly woman?**_

Len rolled his eyes and did his signature hair flick, "Yes, when he gets back. Must've gone off to the toilets – probably couldn't stand your pushiness a second longer." His face scrunched up in bewilderment as he looked upon her form, "Also, why the hell are you reading a newspaper like that? Sit down in that chair like a normal human being for god's sakes." The butler walked away, completely ignoring the crouching man and grumbling while finding another table to clean.

The priestess wasn't sure what to say at that point and her mind came to a full stop over what had just happened. But...but he was right here! Maybe her boss was becoming blind...? What was going on?

"It seems your abilities are far too strong to discern between reality and fiction."

The woman stared at the detective who had just spoken, utterly confused. The small hints of illogical oddities that surrounded him crept about in her mind, slowly linking themselves to one another. Suddenly the entire situation became clear to her, and she quickly backed away. "No way..." She whispered, surprise evident in her voice, "So this entire time, you were actually..."

The detective smiled, his lips set in a thin, taut line. L reached his arm out towards the table; Kagome held back a gasp as his fingers phased right through it. He finished her sentence for her in a completely disinterested voice, his posture reminding her of a childish reaper.

"**Dead as the grave, Miss Kagome."**

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><p><strong>AN: And so, the timeline for this tale compared to the manga/anime is set. No turning back for me now, no siree. **

**Yes, the T in the rating was definitely meant for Len's more colorful choice of words...  
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**I hope to be able to update fairly often as I myself am curious as to how I'll write the rest of the story.  
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**Reviews, questions, and critique are still very much welcome!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter!**

**And to the people who reviewed, I appreciate the questions and comments: _Applejax XD, midnight98, _SilverMidnightKitten, KEdakumi, Geniusly-Unique.**

**I hope this chapter clears up any confusion with how the miko-ghost contact works. Or at least the Kagome-L connection. It was very vague last chapter.  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Death Note.**

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><p><em>Chapter 2:<em>

Kagome awkwardly bit into the noodles she had speared onto her chopsticks, savoring the beefy flavor. Slurping up the dangling tendrils, she chanced an uncomfortable glance at the guest beside her. _This guy..._

The former detective stood beside her nonchalantly, watching as she ate her simple excuse for a dinner, pushing his lips with a finger. She didn't like that calculating look on his face.

"..." The priestess continued to munch on her instant ramen.

"..." L continued to watch, his dark eyes raking in every detail.

"..."

"..."

An uncomfortable tension weighed on the miko's shoulders, cut only by her constant sipping of the soup. L however, was completely focused on other matters. His eyes roamed over her petite figure, from the top of her head to the ends of her toes. Observing how her hair moved to and fro as she ate, he reached out and wrapped a strand around his finger. She looked at him, alarmed.

"H-Hey!" She yelled, a scowl on her face. He attempted to place his free hand on the table. As it made proper contact, the detective gave a nod to the success of his experiment. His satisfactory expression was wiped off his face when Kagome unwound his finger from her.

"You..." The petite woman growled, "I am _not _your plaything!" Folding her arms in a defensive pose, she scooted away from his wandering fingers. This had been going on for too long – ever since their second meeting, he had been pestering her wordlessly with physical contact. Damn her spiritual powers to hell and back!

He pondered over her words while observing her wary reaction towards him.

"Why are you even doing this anyway?" She fumed, starting to remember approximately three days ago when he went after her face, rubbing his cheek almost...intimately against hers. "You've been following me for a week. Can't you find someone else to harass?"

He nearly chuckled at her words, his blank stare looking upon her with a sense of intrigue. "You're the only one I can touch – and the only one who can make me visible. So no." He then proceeded to inspect the bracelet she was currently wearing, wondering if he could achieve the same effect by merely touching it.

"Yes...well... maybe it's a coincidence!" She blurted out, desperate to have the man stop probing her. She had been playing clueless about her role in his materialization in the living world, but she wasn't sure she could keep it going for much longer. Heck, she wasn't even sure he bought it from the start. "But anyway, keep this up and I'll...I'll..."

L looked up at her, his round eyes becoming even more impossibly large. "You'll...? I have already told you of my situation, Kagome." Grabbing her dainty finger with his thumb and forefinger, he inspected it gently, running a finger down to her palm.

She bit her lip, smacking him off her. Yes, indeed he had. During that day in the cafe she had found out everything she needed to know:

"_Dead..." She mulled over the very idea with a hushed voice. "But... "__She struggled for a moment to find words for this phenomenon. "But I can touch you – you can touch me! You felt so solid-" _

_L made a shush sound, placing a finger against his lips in the universal motion of 'be quiet'. "You can see me, but others cannot. People are starting to look at you oddly." The priestess looked around, and sure enough, the customers were whispering about her odd behaviour. _

"_My name is L." He said blatantly, knowing he had nothing to fear from revealing who he was to her. He paused, secretly relishing the look of shock on her face. "I died quite recently because of Kira." He pushed off his chair to hover neatly above the table, looking down upon the surprised miko. _

"_So far, you are the only one able to see, hear, and touch me. Rather, when you come into contact with me, I am given a solid structure." L continued his fact-spewing spree with a look of boredom on his face, "With that said, I think even you can understand why I require your assistance."_

_Annoyed at the regular barbs towards her intelligence, she mumbled quietly, "You want me to help you with revenge." _

"_Revenge?" The detective replied, thinking carefully about her choice of words, "I wouldn't call it that, really. I'm not that petty." He sank down a bit lower, passing his head through the strawberry shortcake still lying on the table. "I merely want this case solved once and for all. Kira is a filthy murderer who needs to be stopped." _

_Kagome said nothing. She'd been tricked by lies of justice and righteousness before. Both criminals and the police had a reason to dispose of Kira. She wouldn't believe this one so easily – not until she saw what he was like. _

Bringing herself back to reality, she shook her head. "And I told you, no." Gulping down the rest of her noodle stock, she ambled towards the sink, L floating silently behind her. Dousing her chopsticks in water, she continued with the same excuse she'd been using for a week now. "I'm busy. I have things to do."

Like demon exterminating – she just didn't have the luxury to help a spirit willy-nilly. "And besides, I have no idea why I can make you solid like that!" It wasn't a total lie, even after three years battling the demons she still didn't understand her powers fully.

"Eh?" The fitting ghost questioned, "But all you do is work. All the time in between could be used to find information would result in possibly a 2% chance of helping." He deduced that her final statement was indeed a lie – she had been doing something at 3 AM in the middle of the park, and unlike him, it certainly wasn't being the wandering dead.

"I have plenty of things to do, L." She chided the disheveled specter, fatigue in her eyes. Internally she cried over the unfairness of it all. He'd never get tired, being a ghost but she, constantly working late, would always be exhausted.

He said nothing, but flew above the sink, floating close enough that their noses almost touched.

Badly startled by his sudden movements, she was about to shout at him again for invading her personal space when he quickly cut in, focusing on her azure irises. "Do you have the shinigami eyes by any chance?"

Kagome exhaled, trying to calm herself down. "What is that?" The priestess questioned, "Is that a code word for something?" Her patience was starting to stretch a little thin, but she didn't want to snap at the spirit of a dead man- that may have been listed in the record of 'things that gave you bad mojo'.

After a hearty pause, L shook his head. "It's not important if you don't know."

She merely raised an eyebrow at his words. "Alright then." Dashing over to the living room she plopped butt-first onto her couch, sighing at its comfort.

L floated behind her slowly, lost in thought as she pressed a few buttons on her remote. She didn't know about the shinigami eyes. Therefore she wasn't too knowledgeable on shinigami, and possibly was clueless about the concept of the Death Note. With vapid eyes, he noted the news channel blaring on the television.

"I would have thought you would be the type of person watching MTV stations." He put in his two cents, enjoying the rile he got out of her. She looked back at him as if to retort, but decided well against it, returning to her weekly ritual with vigor.

"_Prison inmates around the world fear for their lives as Kira continues to make his predatory killings."_

"Knew about that." Stated the young priestess as she switched to a different channel.

"_A man who was accused of murder but never prosecuted died of a heart-"_

"Kira for sure." Boredom tinted her voice.

"_L has suggested a nationwide ban of criminal's photos being released on the media-"_

"Boring-"

The remote was quickly snatched out of her hand by the former detective. Kagome sat up to protest, but stopped when L interlaced fingers with her. She blushed to the roots of her hair, looking back and forth between his hand and his pallid face.

"I-wha-L-!"

He made a shushing sound and stared avidly at the screen, biting his thumb in his infamous thinking pose.

"_The detective is now taking further precautions to stop the murders set by Kira. He is recommending that the news not publish the pictures of criminals further worldwide. World leaders will be debating on whether to accept this new policy –"_

The voice of the news lady blared on, but the spirit was no longer paying attention, the gears in his mind working on overdrive. He had declared before to the investigation team that withholding criminal information would result in Kira killing innocent victims. Then, possibly, the person who took over his name as L, could it be Raito? No, it was surely Raito. There was no way he'd let this chance slip out of hands - the chance to be so powerful that no one could oppose him.

He jumped off the sofa, dragging the unwilling girl with him to her bedroom with their hands still connected tightly.

"Grk- L, what the-"

Former Detective L eased into his crouching posture on the computer chair situated in Kagome's bedroom. Powering up her monitor, he waited several seconds before releasing the hand he was holding.

"Thank you-" Kagome started, but stopped the praise as soon he placed the same hand on his head. He looked up at her with the most innocent face and she knew immediately what he was up to.

"What do you want..." Kagome sighed, giving in.

He gestured towards the screen and said pointedly, "Your password."

Frowning, she ruffled the hair on his head somewhat exasperatedly before leaning close to his ear and whispering into it. He nodded and typed the information into the box with his perched fingers. Quickly, he logged onto the internet and started to search for any news articles related to Kira versus L.

Kagome shook her head, mentally worn out. Babysitting this guy was _way _more trouble than it initially seemed. The problem was that he would most likely not leave her alone – he needed her to do anything, even if he had been a genius in his past life. Must be vexing for him to rely on someone like her; she was no detective material.

The young woman yawned. He could what he wanted. She however, had been up way past her bedtime, she probably should be heading to sleep now. Stretching her arms, she made her way to her closet to pick out pajamas.

"...Ahem." Came an irritated voice from behind her. L was sinking into the chair, fingers going through the keyboard mid-stroke.

The priestess laughed, "Sorry L, I need my rest for tomorrow." Sucking in a breath of air, she murmured, "I have a training regime to start with the devil himself tomorrow."

* * *

><p>A week later...<p>

"Louder, Kagome!"

"_Come get your sweet treats down at Xoco's! We guarantee it will drive you loco!" _The overworked waitress added a small twirl, finishing her action with a cute pose.

Len gave a smug smile, extremely satisfied. Placing his hands at his hips in a triumphant pose, he laughed at his sole waitress as she collapsed from tiredness. "Good job, good job today. The customers enjoyed your enthusiasm. Tomorrow, you can go out and advertise the cafe with that new slogan!"

Kagome scowled, rubbing her throat from where she sat. That devil manager _loved_ working her to the bone. They had been practicing the new motto for several hours now – even L, who enjoyed watching her troubles, had drifted off somewhere from boredom.

"You can get going now. I'm about ready to head off too." Len informed her, beaming with success as he wiped off the flour from his suit. "Don't forget; be at the Kinto square tomorrow by noon. I'm counting on you, my one and only dependable waitress!"

She managed to rasp out, "Maybe I could be more dependable if I got a raise."

Quick as the honeybee, the waiter gathered up his effects noisily. "What was that? I couldn't hear you, sorry. Talk to me about it some other time, ok?" With that said, he flitted out the restaurant, skipping all the way.

_D...Devil king..._

She picked herself off the ground and started her routine for closing up the shop with a heavy sigh. Why was she still working here again? No raise, overtime all the time, not to mention being the only actual worker aside from the boss... not to mention it was seriously cutting into what cynically she dubbed as her 'super-hero time'.

Oh yeah rent money. Kagome grumbled at life's cruelty.

She looked around the confectionery. L still wasn't back. Maybe he finally realized that she was utterly serious about her claims? Kagome quickly abolished the thought as stupid. No way. No way would that guy give up in only a time span of 15 days they had known each other.

"But finally some peace and quiet..." She thumbed through the various newspapers and magazines on the stand near the entrance. Well now that she was alone, she supposed she could start investigating again. She didn't have to look very hard to find a new tidbit of information; a new serial killer was on the loose once more – the victims had looked as if their soul was sucked out of them.

"Maybe it's a soul collector?" She mumbled under her breath, "But it's hard to tell for sure with no pictures of the corpses..." Browsing through the numerous articles, she chanced upon a description of the scene by an anonymous source.

"The victims seem to be chosen at random – they have no connection to one another." She whispered, focused intently, "When found they resembled dried husks of humans. Hmmm...that definitely fits a soul collector's MO."

Tossing the magazine aside, she rifled through a newspaper to find a piece of writing of the investigation. "Through autopsies and further investigation of the victim, it was seen that the victims were aged many years before their death. It's a possibility that a new drug has been developed-"

"I do not think there is currently a drug that can be put to use like that..." A voice behind her droned out.

Kagome jumped, accidentally backhanding L in the process. "Oh! Geez, don't scare me like that! I'm really sorry!" He recoiled from the blow and rubbed his now transparent cheek.

"Quite alright as I don't feel any pain in this form." He said in an unattached manner, eyeing the large pile of discarded media. "Are you researching something?"

"A girl can't want to read about the news?" She asked coolly, avoiding eye contact with him. After a small pause, she tried to change the subject. "Where were you all this time anyway? Len was giving me hell, I could've used some ghostly backup."

The detective shrugged nonchalantly. "Here and there. " He pointed at the article she had just been reading, "Are you interested in this case?"

Kagome hesitated before nodding. "Yeah, it's something new from the Kira case so I was pretty curious."

Without warning, he grabbed her hand, sending a warm shiver up her spine. Picking up the magazine, L pinched a corner and held it up above his head, inspecting the article. "Was there anything in here about how old the victims were before death?" He winced discreetly at the unexpected throbbing on his cheek. So he could feel pain when he was solid...

Kagome shook the blush from her face before answering, "I have no idea, I didn't get that far into the article before you came in..." She suddenly realized what he was implying, "W-Wait, are you planning on solving that case?"

"Would it convince you to help me?" He retaliated, eyes quickly scanning over the details of the numerous papers.

"..." Thinking over the proposal for a couple of seconds, she let out an 'erk' when she saw how L looked back at her with the most sinister smile.

"So it _is_ important to you after all, Kagome-chan." He said in a pleasant voice, giving her a smile that dripped syrup laced with poison before returning to his work. "I wonder why. If I find out who the killer is, you may owe me?"

Her jaw dropped, "You-you tricked me!" Yanking on his arm, she grabbed the collar of his shirt, bringing her face close to his. "Just forget it! Forget it! I don't need your help for this! I can solve it myself!"

L simply stared at her intently, planning out multiple scenarios that would work out to his advantage in the end. "Yourself?" He tilted his head, his soulless eyes teeming with mirth, "Playing miss detective now, are we?"

_Crap. _She ran excuse after excuse in her mind before his taunting and the exhaustion of two long weeks finally got to her, "Yes! Yes, I am! And I can do it damn well too! Maybe even better than you could!"

L's upper lip curled. "Then, why don't you prove it?" _Investigate, Kagome - I will be watching every step of the way to find out what you're hiding._

At her enraged and determined expression, he knew that she had been ensnared neatly in his trap.

_Hook, line and sinker._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, L's certainly got something up his transparent sleeves. Poor Kagome - bullied by everything supernatural. **

**I don't mean to portray her as stupid at all - and she isn't - she just can't keep a tight hold of her emotions given the right pushing of the buttons (like L is doing now). All the stress and unromantic intimacy is getting to her.  
><strong>

**Now L - he's rather good at messing with her mind due to much experience with the matter. But he's having fun with it all the same.  
><strong>

**Bad combination? Maybe, maybe.  
><strong>

**Any feedback or comments are certainly welcome!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapter!**

**I've noticed that each chapter is longer than the previous one. I'm so glad because it means it's getting easier for the story to flow out. Hopefully it continues with this trend. I also just realized how long it's been since the Death Note series finished... this is a tribute to the good old anime!  
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**_KEdakumi_: Yep, I'd rather say this ghost is good at it too. Updated! XD  
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**_ILoveItachi97_: Thank you! I wanted to try it out, and I'm quite pleased with how the story is progressing so far.  
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**_midnight98_: Hehe, her emotions are what gets things kickstarted. Here's more!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own these two!  
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><p><em>Last chapter: <em>

_L simply stared at her intently, planning out multiple scenarios that would work out to his advantage in the end. "Yourself?" He tilted his head, his soulless eyes teeming with mirth, "Playing miss detective now, are we?"_

_Crap. She ran excuse after excuse in her mind before his taunting and the exhaustion of two long weeks finally got to her, "Yes! Yes, I am! And I can do it damn well too! Maybe even better than you could!"_

_L's upper lip curled. "Then, why don't you prove it?" Investigate, Kagome - I will be watching every step of the way to find out what you're hiding._

_At her enraged and determined expression, he knew that she had been ensnared neatly in his trap._

_Hook, line and sinker._

_**Chapter 3: **_

.

.  
>.<em><strong><br>**_

"Guaranteed, we are the best in cake making!" Len's gruff voice rung through the square, earning him a few startled looks from the bystanders, "We have all kinds – strawberry, orange, green tea, mango, vanilla – I can even special make them if you so wish!"

"Everyone, we open again in a week!" Kagome's soothing voice accompanied the manager's, "Kindly visit us!" She handed out fliers to the various people that were interested.

L was beside her, observing how most of the people taking the papers from the blue eyed waitress were drooling males. "Using your sexual charms to win over customers?" He said aloud in an amused tone, watching as the latest fan boy stared at her pink uniform just a little too long.

The young woman made a peace sign with her free hand to satisfy the customer before directing a fierce glare behind her.

His lips curved upwards slightly as he hovered in his crouched position. "Don't stop your little act on my account."

Pouting at his teasing, she turned back to her duties before the manager scolded her. She wondered what he did when he floated off sometimes in the middle of the night. She'd bet her pay check it was something to do with the Kira case. From the behavior she'd seen in the past few weeks, he certainly did seem to be the renowned L; his appearance did diminish her opinion on that though...

"Five days since we last made that bet, Kagome." The detective stated closely into her ear, "Have you found anything to bring you any closer to the truth?"

His freezing ghostly presence so close to her gave her goosebumps; she tried her best to ignore it. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"No?" He continued, his bulging eyes fixated on her tense shoulders, "And I thought you were made of sterner stuff than that."

Kagome bit her lip, an enraged look upon her small face. Because of this guy...this guy...this _guuyyy_! Sucking in a deep breath, she forced her heart to stop beating so fast. Focusing on the couple passing by, she yelled, "Please come to Xoco's! We guarantee it will drive you loco!"

Chancing a backwards glance towards the detective, her blood boiled when she saw that his evil, smug grin had returned at full force to jeer at her. Shoving a lone flier into the hands of a random woman, she signaled a goodbye to her boss. "Taking my lunch break now, master devil sir!"

"What? Hey, no lunch breaks allow-"

The priestess tackled the surprised detective into the bushes just behind the table, sending leaves flying everywhere. They rolled on the ground, hidden by the foliage. Kagome recovered immediately, grabbing the dead man's hand and running out of the area, away from prying eyes. "You damn detective!" She yelled behind her as she ran, "How long did you think I was going to keep up with your insults?"

Ducking behind another tree, she dragged him down with her, trying to keep out of sight from the public. Sighing in relief, she turned to face the troublemaker at hand.

"For your information, I'm taking care of it very well!"

She faltered as she saw the ghoulish man sprawled on the floor, completely taken aback by her rapid actions.

"Ara." Was all he uttered with a blank look on his face, legs and arms in a tangled mess.

_Giggle._

L looked up, half-expecting her mocking expression as retribution for his goading.

"Hahahaha, what is that, L?" She said amidst her sincere laughter, "And here I thought the great detective would have a few good moves!" Kagome chuckled as she held her stomach; it hurt too much from laughing. "I'm sorry...I think I needed that rush. It's been a long few weeks."

She sat down in the grass in the seiza position, reverting back to a calm expression. "Regarding that case, I think I have a classification for the murderer." The satisfied look on her face made him pause in thought, "And L, I don't think you can find the culprits on your own no matter how much information you have."

"It's a supernatural creature, isn't it?" He hazarded a guess, pleased with her flabbergasted reaction.

Thunderstruck by his intuition, the priestess said nothing, knowing that she could not sweet-talk her way out of this.

"So I was right?" He took a cue from her silence, tilting his head, "And also, you seem to deal with this kind of thing often." L untangled himself and inched closer to the cornered woman. "I'm not your first, am I?"

"My...My first..." Kagome tried to abolish the weird thoughts going through her mind as she started remembering his small touches, "Whoa whoa, slow down, you." She straightened her spine, trying to puff herself up, "I'm into this kind of stuff, so of course I'd know. Besides, being my first has nothing to do with anything... "

He gazed at her with an air that said very clearly to her: 'what a load of bull'.

She continued her cover-up unashamedly, "Stop assuming things, you. Just because I'm with you now doesn't mean I've done it with others before."

"Ehhhh? Boyfriend troubles I see." A familiar voice approached them from amongst the bushes, making the priestess jump. Len's pissed off face greeted the pair lying on the ground with their fingers entwined. "Kagome, whose ass died and said you were allowed to take a break?"

"Master demon!" The waitress uttered in mock surprise, "I was just chatting with-"

"Ryuuzaki." L cut in.

"Yes, Ryuuzaki here." She continued, face as straight as a metal rod, "He said he _really _needed to talk to me, I can never get a break! He even followed me all the way here."

The detective blinked. Well now. Two could play at that game. L pressed a thumb to his lips before starting his counterattack. "Oh, she's an adorable one, isn't she? She tackled me the moment she saw my face. No wonder she's my lovely darling." He rubbed his white cheek gently against Kagome's heated red ones.

"W-Wha-? I'm not-" Was all the priestess could force out before L cut her off with a skinny finger and traced her lips.

"Now now Kagome, we don't want to be too intimate in front of your boss, would we?" His near monotone voice questioned, blank eyes searching hers.

_No we most certainly wouldn't! _Kagome thought, indignant at the nerve of the spectre.

Light blue eyes absorbed the situation awkwardly, "That..." Len cleared his throat brusquely, "Kagome, no matter how... lovey dovey... you two are, don't let that interfere with your goddamn work!" He opened his mouth further berate his only worker, but stopped when he saw how close L's lips were to hers.

"A-Anyway!" The waiter yelled his face pink with embarrassment and irritation, "You better come back to the stand in ten minutes or I dock your pay!" He stalked off, his stiff figure a flaming beacon of danger to the people walking nearby.

"...Was that really necessary, L?" Kagome questioned the ghost; his black irises reflected a sort of understanding about the butler.

"No, but it was interesting." He replied, his bulging eyes following the blazing trail of the scorned manager. "I think I may have made things quite a bit harder for you."

Kagome shook off his warning, "Len's always that angry. It's alright."

The detective shrugged indifferently. If she thought so; but while hell hath no fury than a woman scorned, earth hath no mercy from a man who was jealous of a ghost. In particular, said ghost's supposed relationship with the azure-eyed waitress.

"But anyway!" L's ears twitched at the sound of Kagome's firm voice. "Where do you go off saying you're my boyfriend? Len was only joking about that earlier, you know?"

He gave her a strict look, playing with the rocks before him on the ground, "How would you explain the hand holding and physical contact with people otherwise?" Gesturing to their connected hands, he began stacking the objects. "It's fine though, isn't it? You don't actually have one yet."

Kagome stared at their link for a few seconds before sighing. "You're really not going to let this go, are you?"

"No." Came his stubborn reply, "I was a detective who died because of Kira. Of course I want to catch him to end this cycle of killing once and for all." He wouldn't let on that he knew who said killer was; Kagome's pity was essential to his plan.

And pity she did.

Her resolve wavered. But only for a split second; she stood up, relinquishing their contact. "Ryuuzaki – L. I can't. I have my life. I have my duties. I can't give them up for a man's dying grudge." Unsure momentarily, she wandered off to the direction of the workplace, only sparing a single look back towards the now transparent man.

L's features filled with gloom as the stone tower he was building crumbled; his hand become see-through and the rocks had fallen past him.

On the brighter side, he had reasoned out two crucial facts.

One: She was certainly self-aware of her spiritual abilities.

Two: Kagome was using them for something important – something she had labeled her duty.

What that duty was; it would be his new goal to find out. It may be as interesting as bringing Kira to justice –he didn't have to take as much caution.

He had no need to fear death anymore.

* * *

><p>Kagome looked both ways from behind the giant dumpster. One of the more popular hangouts for the younger generation was in this mini-square with the notable cupid fountain; she could feel the demon's presence lingering. And even better: no sign of any hovering men, L or not. Muttering dark thoughts to herself as she remembered what he did yesterday afternoon, she grasped at her bow tighter. But no freakazoid demons yet – though she was saving that special occasion for approximately ten minutes later.<p>

She had a last minute review of what she knew. One: the demon didn't suck out souls, he sucked out the life essence of the human being – their youth. Like jelly through a straw. Two: This meant the class of demon could be reduced to one that desperate to stay young. Most likely his/her form would be young and as good-looking as Sesshomaru with modern butler clothing. She melted over the idea for a few seconds before focusing again on the task at hand.

Notching her arrow, she took one last deep breath before skulking out of the shadows. As Inuyasha had always been saying before, offense was always the best defense.

The past two years of solitary demon hunting amounted to a small improvement in her exterminating skills- she had even managed to pick up a few tricks from her previous opponents. That ogre warrior certainly didn't know what hit him after she was done with the job.

Squinting, she allowed her aura to take a feel around her. It was around here somewhere, she could feel it pulling, tugging, calling to her soul –

_-There!_

She dived out of the way in the nick of time, feeling the demon's claws scratching the surface of her coat. Finishing her roll, she recovered, pointing her arrow at the menace. What she saw made her blood run cold.

An extremely beautiful woman stared back at her, her blue locks waving in the evening breeze as she looked upon the miko in fear – or perhaps it was curiosity? Her flawless skin shone in the moonlight, reflecting its light, and Kagome found herself transfixed by the demon's ethereal beauty. The two women stared at each other, their blue eyes reflecting the image of one another; the priestess found her grip on her weapons loosening.

_N-No..._ She registered what was happening in her mind, but she couldn't shake loose the mysterious woman's hold over her body.

_She can paralyze people with just a glance - dammit!_ Kagome cursed herself, angry at how she wasn't able to think of that possibility.

The breathtaking demon, sensing the miko's helplessness, boldly stepped closer seeming to glide over the ground. With a curious demeanor, she inched a finger over to the paralyzed priestess.

_Can't let her touch me -!_

"Nnh..." Kagome grunted, willing her power to manifest as a shield.

A high-pitched shriek ran through the area, violently disturbing the trees, forcing them to sway. The woman stepped back, cradling her smoldering hand in fervent panic. Screeching malevolently, the youth-stealer fixated her livid eyes upon the helpless miko.

_Crap!_

Her body was slow, sluggish, not wanting to be far away from the intoxicating siren. "Are you kidding?" She choked out, "I'm not going to die because I couldn't resist a beautiful woman!" She tried to hobble past the fountain, failing to see the danger approaching.

_-thud—thud—thud-_

The demon's extended claws pierced through non-vital areas of her body, and Kagome screamed her pain out to the sky, eyes rolling up in shock. Gathering up whatever remained of her strength and blinded by desperation, she picked up an arrow and stabbed it into the woman's arm, effectively severing it from its owner with a sharp burst of pink light.

The priestess dropped to the ground, scrambling to keep distance between her and that thing with little success. Quickly preparing another arrow, she was taken aback as it was knocked out of her hands by the woman's... tail...?

She looked up, her jaw dropping at the macabre sight. The soft glow of the moon highlighted the numerous blue scales and the glint of the large claws; its tail swished to and fro, covered with blood – was it hers...? The beautiful woman had transformed into a human sized dragon, fangs bared, talons ready to slice at her flesh, and eyes soaked with hatred. She let out a magnificent roar that chilled Kagome right down to the bone; her hands trembled with horror as the creature took a step closer.

_Run._

Her body still refused to cooperate. She struggled to make any form of movement – why couldn't she move?

_Run-!_

Focusing all her power to her legs, she watched as the world seemed to move in slow motion. A blur of blue and black engulfed her senses; she could feel her heart beating faster than a locomotive – the pounding of her feet on the ground – the taut bandage of her bow in her hands at last –

-_crack-_

Kagome squealed in distress as she registered the demon stepping on her entire satchel of arrows, turning them into tiny pieces of wood and metal. "No!" The realization of her weapons being rendered useless sent her into a panicked frenzy; she tried to run away, but she tripped over the edge of the fountain, sending her face first into the freezing water. _Colder than Naraku's heart! _Her teeth chattered at the frigidity.

The demonic woman roared in pleasure of finally cornering her prey. Blood mingled with the water as the priestess' wounds ran red, opening further from all her movement. Kagome kept still, trying not to provoke the woman further, her mind racing.

_What could she do? What? What? _

_After all this...am I going to die...?_

From behind her eyelids she could see the images of the people she would give the world for – a haze of blue, orange, pink and red through her mind –

Her mother and brother swiftly made its way to her thoughts. She hoisted herself back up, despite the throbbing in her legs and shoulders. No, she couldn't die yet – there _were_ still people here who would mourn her loss. And she would never wish that on them.

The monstrous siren rushed at her swiftly, letting loose a victory cry.

Kagome swiftly turned, swinging her bow like a baseball bat at the dragon's mouth, injecting it with whatever spiritual power she had left – _please work!_

It sliced through the demon's mouth like a sharp sword, running down its body - splitting the creature in two with a pink glow. Kagome recoiled from the effort of standing her ground; falling backwards into the fountain once more she watched as the dissected monster shattered into tiny specks of dust.

The arm that was still embedded in her shoulder disintegrated into sand as well, leaving nothing to block her wounds from bleeding out. Panting, the priestess attempted to exit the water before the situation became fatal. Water relentlessly pounded on the gashes, leaving behind a vicious after-effect. Collapsing on solid ground, soaking wet, she knew that she would no longer be able to move for a while.

_Blood loss or pneumonia, what's less painful to die from?_

Attempting to lift a finger, she found herself incapable of doing so.

_Ah...using that much holy energy, that tired me out..._

What that ghost would say if he saw her like this... perhaps it was the stinging cold, or the aching wounds, but she started wishing he had been here – while his presence was an annoyance, it... was...also ... really...very fun...

Feeling her consciousness beginning to slip, Kagome lay spread eagle on the ground, her last thoughts about the investigator.

_Sorry I couldn't help you... L._

_I'm so sorry...  
><em>

* * *

><p>L sat perched next to Kagome's bed, his sullen face overlooking his young charge. Sweat poured down her pale skin as she slept on, and her pink lips occasionally opened to let out an indistinguishable noise. He pressed his thumb to his mouth, trying to deduce what had been happening.<p>

He had been away from the young woman for no more than half an hour last night; she had managed to give him the slip while he had been investigating Toudai University once more. How much trouble one woman had given him, searching for her in the middle of the night. Brushing over her forehead with his fingertips, L's frown deepened as he felt the heat radiating from her. No doubt, she had a fever.

Worry inched its way into his mind. He had found her laying in the middle of Enroku square, soaked through and through, bleeding from various spots on her body, and from there he had carried her back to her apartment so that he could dress her wounds. Granted, half the house was in disarray because he had had to drag her around while treating her, but he'd cover for that later. Luckily this had been incredibly late at night so no one had been around to witness the deed.

What had happened to her... that was the main question.

From her injuries, it appeared she had been stabbed multiple times, the weapon piercing all the way through her body. Brute strength was something the culprit did not lack. There was over a 90% possibility it was the supernatural creature he had talking about earlier. But if so, why was Kagome not killed?

He stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

The most logical conclusion was that she was able to fend it off – or maybe even eliminate it? His mind turned to the Ghostbusters theme song momentarily. Could the solution really be that simple...? He half-halfheartedly looked around for a vacuum of some sort.

Hovering above the comatose patient, he carefully observed her peaceful facial features. What an enigma this woman was. A probable diva amongst her peers for her looks, she continued to surprise him with her gutsy attitude and hidden smarts. And yet, still, she had a secret hidden from him...

_What else are you hiding, my mysterious Kagome?_

As if sensing his pending question, the young woman clenched tightly at her bed sheets, moaning in agony. He willed himself closer to her, placing a lanky hand on her forehead. It phased right through her, and he lost his balance from the shock.

_What? _His already large eyes widened further. He began to withdraw his hand when he felt the light thumping coursing throughout his body.

_-Badump-_

_-Badump-_

_-Badump-_

Drawn to the gentle drumming sound, he allowed his otherworldly body to sink down lower... lower... lower...

A pulling sensation latched onto him, and he found himself unable to stop from sinking into oblivion.

* * *

><p>Sapphire eyes snapped open. Onyx hair pooled over Kagome's shoulders as she sat up from the bed, sweat pouring down her body. Keeling over, the girl fell off the piece of furniture with a hard thud. Picking herself off the ground, she seemed puzzled, scanning the room precariously. Looking down at her choice of clothing, her expression became one of astonishment.<p>

She dashed off to the bathroom, quickly standing in front of the mirror to admire her face. A revelation seemed to strike her hard as she stretched the skin on her cheeks. Patting the stinging areas, she looked over entire body, ogling the way her flawless skin gleamed in the light.

Spinning on the spot, the woman flushed a little more as she seemed to grow nervous.

"Kagome really is quite a beauty." The sentence was uttered from her lips with a sense of admiration whilst tugging on her light blue shirt, "No wonder that Len fancies her."

L placed the tip of his finger into his mouth, watching as the reflection in the mirror mimicked him, only with Kagome's face. He turned from left to right; it did the same.

Could this be what those ghost enthusiasts talked about – possession of a human body?

Involuntary, he licked his, or rather Kagome's, lips tasting the salty tang of sweat. Her eyes lit up with a childish tinge; a dark smile came upon the petite female's visage.

_With this...oh the possibilities._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ._. This isn't going to end well for Kagome, is it?  
><strong>

**Questions, confusion, comments? All are welcome - I love answering them.  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to the readers and the reviewers!

I've decided to answer the reviewers at the bottom of the new chapters so I don't spoil anything in the story. All these gender-switch pronouns are pretty confusing...

Some language, but hopefully not too extreme?

Please enjoy this newest chapter as well!

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha or Death Note.**

* * *

><p>"Hmmmmm..."<p>

The cashier noticed the dilemma of the young girl ogling the cakes and pastries. "May I help you m'am?"

"I'm not sure..." The blue eyed customer placed a finger into her mouth while in deep thought, "Should I get the strawberry or the green tea..." Slouched over, she tilted her head cutely without looking at the employee.

The female cashier gave her two cents on the matter, "Well, they're both really quite delicious, but my personal favourite is–"

"Is that so?" She interrupted, "Then in that case..." L turned to stare at the startled working woman with Kagome's cobalt irises. "I'd like one- no, three of all of the cakes and sweets you can find in the store, miss-"

The cashier gaped at the potentially diabetic woman. "I-I'm Hana."

"Hana-san then." The shopper nodded at her, placing a thumb to her soft lips. "Please do not skimp on the fruit tarts and sugar cubes." She walked up to the cash register, waiting there expectantly.

Hana snapped herself out of her surprised stupor before rushing to fulfill the odd woman's request. Quickly scooping one of every pastry in the freezer into a shopping basket, she secretly glanced at her demanding client.

Wrapped in several coats and sweaters, she was a cute young woman – however her pretty looks were diminished by the poor form and terrible habits she had. It was really too bad, she had the most beautiful, expressive eyes she had ever seen of any woman so far.

_I'm so jealous – that skinny figure and able to eat all this sugar! _The cashier whimpered in her mind. _I get all the weird ones during the graveyard shift..._

"Oh, and don't forget the marshmallows." The lady added, playing with a silky strand of her hair. "Seven packs of the regular and four of the tropical. Extra soft."

Biting her tongue, Hana proceeded to complete her order and brought it to the front in two separate baskets. "That will be 50 000 yen (1) please – will you be paying through cash or diabet- er, debit!" Her face flushed at her slipup.

The heavily clothed woman gave her a deadpan look before wordlessly taking out a card and twirling it in her callused fingers.

* * *

><p>L crammed the fruit tart into Kagome's mouth, enjoying the sweet taste of sugar on her tongue immensely. Licking her fingers, he proceeded to unwrap a mango cake and greedily take a bite out of it.<p>

_Oh my sweet sweet sugar, how I've missed you. _He thought, savouring the rich flavour of the fruity treat. _I'll gladly possess Kagome's body everyday to have you in my arms. _That said, he popped a sugar cube, running her tongue over the granules. He carried several bags of sweets with one arm, not willing to even wait until he got back to Kagome's apartment before tearing into a few.

At 5 AM in the morning that was the only place open that had decent sweets. He devoured several sugar cubes at once. Now that he had stocked up properly, he supposed the next step was to continue his investigation of Raito and Toudai.

If his deductions were correct he would have taken over the position of L by now.

He pulled a slip of paper from Kagome's coat pocket. Memorizing what was written on it, he threw it out a passing garbage can. L crammed a piece of mochi into her mouth, a determined gaze on her face.

_Raito-kun, here comes your ghost of Christmas past back to haunt you. _

* * *

><p>Sachiko sighed whilst stirring the scrambled eggs on her frying pan, her entire posture radiating tiredness. What was this family coming to really...<p>

First her husband taking on the Kira case, nearly having a heart attack, her son disappearing for days at a time, then him running away to live with that woman-! She nearly cried from frustration at how their happy family life seemed to be crumbling. Raito hadn't even told her about it! Sayu was completely blown away by the recent happenings, but she did seem to support her big brother's escapades – that girl just didn't understand how scandalous this was-!

The chiming of the doorbell interrupted her troublesome thoughts, and she wiped her hands on the pink apron she currently had on. "Just a minute!"

_Who could that be, so early in the morning... _She pondered, slipping her feet into her slippers. Sachiko opened the door apprehensively.

"Well hello there." A pleasant feminine voice greeted her. "I'm looking for Raito Yagami. Is he here at the moment?"

The housewife was taken aback by the appearance of a young woman hunched over and chewing through a chunk of cake on her doorstep. "No, I'm afraid not." Thoughts of her son sprung into her mind again, and she held back tears. "Why do you need him?"

"I'm a classmate of his sent to find out where he's been." Explained the female. "Are you alright m'am? You don't look so well."

"No... well...I'm fine." Mrs. Yagami mumbled, wiping her eyes tenderly. "He hasn't been back since he went off gallivanting with his girlfriend...he dropped out of Toudai to do it too..." Her voice trailed off as the young lady offered her a pack of pocky with a blank look on her face.

"I find that sweets help one calm down and think rationally."

"Uhm...thank...you?" Sachiko reluctantly took the box. "What was your name again?"

"Takada." She said immediately, polishing off a skewer of dango. "So when do you think he'll be back?"

Raito's mother carefully opened the package and took a timid bite of the junk food. "I don't know Takada...even as his mother he hasn't bothered to contact me."

"I see. That's unfortunate." 'Takada' munched her way through a pack of macaroons with little grace. "Well then, thank you for your time Yagami-san."

Stepping out of the gateway, L completely missed the housewife's confusion as she clambered back into the house. So Raito ultimately dropped out to 'continue' the Kira investigation. No doubt his actual intentions were to drive it right into the ground. Digging through his bags once more, he was utterly dismayed to find that there was no more pocky left.

_I gave her the last package! _He turned around, ready to snatch even a little bit of the sweet treat back, only to have the Yagami household door shut in his face.

_CURSE YOU, YOU REALLY **ARE** KIRA'S MOTHER!_

* * *

><p>Another 5 000 yen (2) later and the ghost was quite sure he wouldn't be lacking in supply anytime soon. Picturing Kagome's reaction, he vaguely wondered if ghosts could die after being killed.<p>

Walking back up the steps to Kagome's apartment, he struggled to push the whole shopping cart full of goodies up. Feeling a sudden wave of dizziness pass over him, he scowled as the wheels became stuck on a badly placed hole on the stair. He didn't have time for this. A scheme popped into his – or Kagome's illness ridden mind.

Only mildly registering how terrible this idea was, he dashed down to the bottom of the stairs. L crouched, analyzing the situation.

Suddenly, the petite woman sprinted to the cart and executed a perfect double kick on the helpless piece of metal, sending it flying through the air-

_**BAM!**_

The neighbor's wooden door exploded with the force of a small bomb.

L stared unblinkingly at the amount of damage he had caused as he landed.

_Bad idea was so terribly bad._

The detective hurriedly ran to the scene of the crime, yanking out the sweets vehicle from the rubble and making his daring getaway for the room three doors over. He shoved the cart into Kagome's room in the nick of time – people had heard the loud bang and just came out to investigate.

_"What, what happened?"_

_"Eek! Was it a terrorist attack?"_

"Maybe it was Kira?" He suggested with the crowd, joining in on the panic with an amused look on her face.

_"Kira?" "But why would he...?" "I heard he was secretly an American agent who came to live in Japan!" "You can't believe everything Sakura TV says, idiot!" "I heard it from Hiromi last night, you idiot!" "What? You told me you were at a business meeting last night! What's this about your meeting Hiromi!" "Er, I can explain sweetie-"_

L chuckled before slipping back into the apartment as silently as a ninja. _Now to hide the evidence of sweets..._

Kagome's forehead quickly flared up, and he stumbled across the carpet in a feverish daze. Plopping on the bed, he reached up to undo the buttons on the coats; he stopped midway through as some risqué thoughts raced through his mind. He gulped silently, internally cursing his male genetics.

"It's just the coats." L mumbled to himself as he ripped the offending articles off his person. What was left was her original clothing; he had never bothered to change in the first place. They clung to Kagome's body because of all the sweat. The specter paused. "If I leave it on, she'll get even sicker..."

Her hands trembled a little. It wasn't like he'd never seen a female's body before – just not so...close and personal. Even Misa, with all her different indecencies, had never come close to-to-this...

He uneasily tugged her shirt upwards slowly, cobalt eyes widening. A huge scar ran across the side of her body, gnarled and pink. He ran his fingers along the mark, wordlessly marveling over how she was still alive. The wounds she obtained today were nothing compared to this. _What happened to this woman? Was she mauled by a truck full of swords?_

Struck by the cold air, he shivered before hesitantly pulling the blouse up further. Kagome's face grew even hotter as L recognized the severity of his task. Frozen to the spot, he stayed there for a while, with her stomach exposed, trying to figure out what to do.

_I am L. The genius detective who has never failed to solve a case. _L swallowed, his mouth dry. _I can handle taking the clothes off an attractive wom-_

His thought process was cut off by an unexpected punch to the face. L brought his head back upright to find that his- or rather, Kagome's, left hand had given him an excellent left hook.

"What the-" He gasped out, only to be on the receiving end for another blow, leaving him sprawled out on the bed. Struggling against the alien hand, he felt his legs topple as the arm drew back for another chance to hit the off-guard detective. _But I'm still in control! Is her body moving on its own?_

"What is this, some sort of self-defense mechanism against perverts-?" He yelled at the flailing limb before ducking. Her fist followed him and made contact with Kagome's head with a loud -dong- sound.

He lay down on the bed, feeling his own consciousness slipping as the hand continued to slap at him. "K...Kagome... who...or what..._are _you..." L questioned quietly before finally passing out.

* * *

><p><em><strong>(Eight hours later)<strong>_

Kagome awoke to stinging pain... _everywhere._

"Ow_owowowowoowo!_" She whimpered, sending the pain shooting up into her brain. "What the heck?" She sat up from the comfort of her sheets only to wince as her shoulders started aching. She ran a hand along her leg to find a bruise forming there...the hard way.

"_OW!_" She yelled, withdrawing her contact. "How did this all-"

Her train of thought stopped as she saw the mess her apartment was in. "...Ehhh..."

Her comforter was splayed on the floor on top of her numerous books. She turned her gaze to her bookshelf, alarmed to see that it had been knocked over. Her computer desk was mostly left intact, only the mouse, dangling off the edge had been disturbed. Sighing in mingled relief and frustration, she hopped off the bed to assess the rest of the damage.

Kagome regretted the move instantly as her feet gave out from under her. "Ok, that's it." She cried out from her position on the floor, "What train hit me?"

Looking to her left, she was strangled by the sense of shock as she saw her bathroom necessities flung all over the place. _The... frick?_

She lay there, trying to remember if she had caused this. Last night was a blur of blood and pink energy. _That's right, I fought that thing...it stabbed me... I killed it... and... I passed out?_

"How did I get back here..." She whispered before executing a small sneeze. Rubbing a finger along her upper lip, Kagome sighed. "Well, the fever was expected."

_That demon was the worst kill ever._

Hobbling over to the kitchen to fix herself some soup, she stopped dead.

_WHAT. _

_THE. _

A shopping cart lay at the feet of the refrigerator, filled to the brim with crumpled goodies.

_HEEEEECCCCKKKKKK?_

The priestess made her way over to the cart, taking note of the splintered pieces of wood hanging from its sides that looked suspiciously similar to her own door. Panic was starting to take effect within her mind. _Did I do something? Was I taken over by another demon? WHY DID IT MAKE ME STEAL A CRAPLOAD OF JUNK FOOD?_

"Oh, you're awake." A soft voice greeted her from above.

"L!" Kagome greeted him with relief as she saw the hunched hovering specter, "I'm so glad you're ok! Did you see the demon that did all this?" She gestured at the fridge's dented front.

"Oh, that." L shifted a bit further away from the nearly hyperventilating woman. The shopping cart must have hit the refrigerator when he had shoved it in the apartment. "Uhm...no, no demon."

Her blue eyes narrowed at the suspicious change in his voice. "Wait a minute, you." Grabbing the front of his shirt, she watched with wary eyes as he fell to the ground. He rubbed his butt before looking right back up at her eyes. Grey clashed with blue. Finally, Kagome spoke. "You're a ghost, you don't need sleep – kind of hard for you to miss something like this happening!"

L shifted his gaze to the basket full of treats, then back to the woman in a flash. "I was away."

The miko wasn't quite satisfied with his answer, but she let it go in favour of another question. "Then what about this; how did I get back here? Last I remember I was gone." She knelt beside him, playing with his hair to try and calm her nerves.

The detective stared at her twirling fingers before responding, "I carried you here."

She looked back up at him, surprised. "_You_? You did?"

"Of course." He murmured, thinking of ways to save his skin; this was the best one he had in mind so far, "In the middle of Enroku square? You were sopping wet and full of holes." Gently stopping her finger, he continued, "I took you back here and put bandages on you."

Kagome lowered her shirt past her shoulders, completely missing the flush on L's face. "Oh, it's true...so that's why my place is like this?"

He nodded slowly, failing to wipe the light pink off his pallid features quickly. "Well... I had to drag you around for quite a bit see... so that's why your body may ache a bit even now..."

The raven haired woman gazed at him with disbelief for a couple of minutes before smiling in a dazzling manner. "Thank you, L. You actually...you saved me. You may not be such a bad guy after all."

L let out the tiniest sigh of relief and nervousness amidst the heat on his face. The rapid, light thumping in his chest at the sight of the young woman's smile troubled him. _Is that a heart? I didn't even know I had one...dead or alive. _

He halted his nerve-wracking musings as Kagome decided that she had had enough of inducing throbbing from moving.

She placed her head on his lap, mumbling somewhat incoherently, "I need to sleep more, I can't think. My head hurts... my sides are splitting... " Snuggling her feverish face into his stomach, she yawned. "Thank you... L."

The ghost waited for her breathing to become shallow before reaching out and gingerly stroking the side of her battered cheeks. "You're...welcome, Kagome."

Concerning himself with the small bruises on her cheek, he allowed himself to worry a little for her well-being. _Beaten, scarred, battered and bruised, and still with that smile on your countenance. Was that what fate intended for you? _

Feeling a small amount of guilt for his part in her wounds, L trailed his fingers over Kagome's dainty hand. He couldn't comprehend why she had started attacking herself at that moment, but he could only assume the trigger was his semi-perverted thoughts...

_Next time I'll try not to put myself in that kind of situation again. _He vowed to himself. _Then you won't get hurt as well... _

His head fell to his chest as he dozed off into slumber land with the sleeping Kagome by his side.

_What is it about this woman that makes me want to protect... her... _

_**(3 hours of crouching over the sleeping woman later)**_

The detective ghost awoke to void of warmth on his lap, the crinkling of a piece of paper, and Kagome's soft inquiry of, "Oh, there's a receipt?"

A hush made way for an unbearable tension in the air. Finally, the reaction was enough to split all off Japan's eardrums in two:

"_HOW MUCH YEN FROM MY ACCOUNT WAS SPENT ON ALL THIS AGAIN?" _

L discreetly phased out of the room for a strategic retreat.

_I'll explain the entire fiasco to her when she calms down. _

* * *

><p>(1) Approximately $500<p>

(2) Approximately $50

A/N: Well, this chapter turned out looking like a silly tidbit in a more serious story. Initially it was supposed to be a bit more informative, but I think I prefer the tiny bits of fluff and L's silliness a bit more.

I'd like to give special thanks to the reviewers for this chapter! I don't actually plan out my chapters ahead of time (except really important events) as I end up rewriting it a couple of times so this one was up in the air for a while. I had a version written out but saw some suggestions and did a take two. And hey, I ended up liking this version a lot more than my other one!

Must write tons before school starts again...

**_Geniusly-Unique: Hehe, isn't he? Please look forward to it becoming much worse!  
><em>**

**_Applejax XD: Thanks a lot for the convenience store idea! Well, we'll see how she takes it next chapter I suppose.  
><em>**

**_midnight98: Right on the money - he wouldn't be L otherwise!  
><em>**

**_Bloodcherry: He had his cake and semi-ate it too. Only he got the fist of steel rather than just a slap... and she hasn't even found out about what went on yet. XD  
><em>**

**_Ariz0na-Sky_**:_**Thank you! Well, they'll hook up later, but who knows when?**_


	6. Chapter 5

A/N:

Sorry for the wait!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Death Note.

* * *

><p>"... So then you bought all...<em>this...<em>and then what?"

A loud whimper came forth because of Kagome's words.

"I couldn't help it! It was temptation galore for me there!"

A vein popped on the miko's head, and she clenched her fist. "You..."

"Uwa...Kagome, what should I do..."

"Hmm..." The blue-eyed beauty placed her palm on her cheek in thought. "I honestly don't know... but one's thing's for sure." She slammed a hand down on the table, glaring at her conversation partner. "_Don't spend that much on clothing anymore Eri."_

Kagome was with one of her greatest friends inside Blue Note - one of the best cafes to chat in Aoyama. And while the initial invitation had been innocent enough, Eri's behaviour revealed it for what it truly was: a sob fest about money. She stared into her cup of tea with dread in her sapphire orbs, waiting for her friend's reply.

Eri sniffled, blowing her nose on her handkerchief. "I couldn't help it – I saw all this cute stuff that I wanted to buy and I... "

Kagome sighed. "But still – 40 000 yen worth of clothes in one day? Be more cautious with your money!" Directing a fierce glare to her side, she grumbled, "Everyone needs to needs to learn a little lesson with spending habits."

Located beside the enraged miko, L tried his best to avert his gaze.

(One month ago...)

"_...L, the neighbour's door has been blown off! Did you hear __**that**__ while I was out?"_

_L visibly stiffened. "Oh, is that so?"_

_She stared the ghost down, slowly trying to add one with one. "And you know what? I went to investigate the store on the receipt I found before. The cashier recognized me and gave me a free diabetes blood test kit." _

"_Oh...did she?" The detective gazed off into the distance, not letting any sign of recognition into his dead eyes. "Maybe you came off as like the Hulk temper-wise to her. You should probably become a mellower person-" _

"_E-ru." Kagome cut him off in a sing-song voice, "__**How did you know she was female?**__"_

_He was already passing halfway through the ceiling when the priestess grabbed a scrawny leg and threw him down to earth. _

"_You're not getting away before you explain things to me, and fast." Her eyes gleamed with the promise of revenge amidst the cracking of her knuckles. _

_Helpless on the ground, he reached out for a pack of marshmallows and relinquished it over to her. "...Marshmallows for your troubles?" He inquired with a tiny quiver in his voice before the holy wrath of the woman descended on him at full force._

"_THOSE MARSHMALLOWS __**ARE **__MY TROUBLES!"_

Even now, he would never forget the ensuing pain and agony. Shivering at the remembrance, he turned his attention back to the conversation to take his mind off her demonic punishment.

"And Taro-kun said that I needed to look cuter, so...so..."

"Eri-chan, you... find a man who loves you for who you are." Kagome scarfed down the oden like it was jelly. "If he finds the need to change you for your appearance, you're better off without him."

A familiar presence caught the miko's attention mid-Emi's sentence.

Slyly shifting her stare to her right, she held back any signs of shock when she saw a small lantern spirit wandering aimlessly about the cafe, its spare lantern bumbling about everywhere. Placing her head in her hands, she let out a huge sigh. "As long it doesn't cause any trouble..." Her muffled voice came out, unnerving both the floating man and her friend.

"That's what I keep telling you! He's a nice guy otherwise, him henpecking about my appearance shouldn't hinder anything!" Eri stated defiantly.

"Kagome, you can see that too?" L pressed his thumb to his mouth and brought his knees up to chest, his childish features curious.

Caught between the two conversations, she blurted out, "Yes, yes, fine."

"Awwww, Kagome you were always so understanding!" Eri squealed, leaning over to hug her friend. "What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?"

Massaging her temples, Kagome muttered, "Yeah, I do. He's a pain in the ass." L's hushed chuckle behind her did nothing to quell the headache.

"You _do?" _Her friend's voice had suddenly risen several octaves higher, "You never said anything about it in your emails or texts with me! Who? When? Where?"

"A detective, two months ago, in the middle of Kinto square." The priestess answered in a bored voice, glaring at the ghost who was laughing quite eerily by her side.

"That's _marvellous!_" Eri continued, eyes sparkling like the brightest Christmas lights. "Have you heard? There's a legend around that square! If a couple hooks up there, they'll be together for the rest of their lives!"

Kagome really didn't know how to take that. _My so called boyfriend has already gone past the expiry date..._

"So, how did he ask you out?" Like an impatient child begging for treats, Eri sat poised to attack in front of her.

"Er..." Kagome fumbled for something off the top of her head, "He said something like-" She changed her voice into a deeper and more seductive monotone one, imitating his baggy-eyed stare, "_When I hold your hand I feel so alive._"

L let out a sharp laugh as Eri oohed and ahhed over the made-up romance.

Kagome blushed furiously.

Eri smiled in a knowing manner at her expression. "You'll have to introduce him one day!"

"Why yes Kagome, you must indeed." The ghost chortled, greatly irritating the only one who could hear him at the moment.

Kagome slurped up the rest of her soup and sat up. "Sorry Eri-chan, but I forgot that I had to do a few errands. Do you mind if I leave a bit early?" Her friend followed suit, giggling non-stop.

"No I don't. But in return, introduce us one day! I'll make it worth your while!"

* * *

><p>Amongst the lights hanging from the lampposts, downtown was looking far more splendid than it had been in a while. Snow slowly drifted down from the sky, encasing the entire town with a soft opaque blanket. The detective and the miko sat atop a bench, watching as people dashed by, eager to pick up sales from different shops. Puffs of mist drifted from Kagome's mouth as she quietly observed the serene scene.<p>

"Pretty isn't it?"

L nodded, watching a snowflake make its descent before starting his inquiry. "About that thing in Blue Note-"

"Oh look, the kimono shop is having a sale now!"

The tiniest look of annoyance came upon his face before quickly dissipating. "Please answer the question-"

Kagome smiled softly to herself before staring at a fixed point. "That tree – it's so ...Christmas-esque."

"You can see the supernatural." L continued, voice reflecting mild exasperation, "And your wounds from a month – no, even a week before, they suggested you did battle with them."

The priestess' lips twitched. _Damn that Yuki-onna (1) for giving her frostbite._

"I wonder if I should get a kimono for New Years Eve."

"Who are you really?" L continued, approaching her even closer than he had dared before, grey eyes magnificently rounded. "You transcend beyond normal so-called mediums. I never believed in the supernatural before you came along."

Kagome gulped before meeting his steely, inquisitive gaze. _I can't lie to him anymore. He's got me all figured out – so __**this **__was the true power of L, the greatest detective in the world._

Drawn in by his magnetic curiosity, the young woman tugged on her scarf subconsciously. "...Yeah. I'm –"

_**Mama?**_

The detective snapped his gaze away from Kagome, fixating on the interruption with a steely glare. However, he was not expecting what he saw at that instant.

_**Are you my mama?**_

A young child had approached the young woman, an expectant look in his green eyes. Orange hair framed his small face, and small hands reached out for the unsurprised lady.

"...I can help you find her." Kagome whispered, extending her hands out to the juvenile. She watched his orange tail fluff up as he bounced his way into her lap. Cradling him like a newborn, she said quietly, "Just rest little one."

He curled up in her arms, mumbling softly. _**Mama. I'm so glad I found you. **_Nodding off quietly, he fell asleep, silent as the grave.

L stared at the young boy, absorbing the sight of the triangular ears on his head. "Is he...?"

"Not human, yes."

The detective hovered over to the child in his hunched form. "He's...so small. He can't be any older than three."

Kagome chuckled, taking care not to wake the sleeping baby. "You'd be surprised. This is a fox-demon child - they have extremely long life spans. By the time I'm pushing daisies, he'll still look like a teenager."

L's forever brilliant mind registered this information. "Amazing...you're quite amazing to know this."

She shrugged it off as nothing before lightly stroking the child's forehead. "All we can do now is wait for his mother to come find him. He must have been so curious about all the lights and wandered off from her." As a precaution, she allowed her aura to flare out in a gentler manner.

He pondered her words before reaching a lanky arm out to the boy in wonder. "I've never really noticed before how tiny children are."

Kagome looked back at the suddenly talkative spirit. _Somehow, I can imagine him taking candy from a baby in a fit of sweets desperation. _"You've never been around them before?"

"I have." L said quietly. "An orphanage was founded in my honor – to find my successor. It's full of brilliant children. Perhaps it has been brought to a halt after my death; I had yet to pick a successor."

She cocked her head. "This is the first time you've told me so much about yourself. Keep going."

His mouth kept running past his control, releasing his past guilt, "I had already chosen two young children to bear the task of being my protégée. And now I've died before truly making my choice." L sighed deeply. "I dangled chocolate and toys in front of them only to snatch it away from my death. Anti-climactic. What I did was fitting for a monster such as myself."

Kagome frowned. "You say monster, but...isn't it a very human act to want to live forever? With those kids, the legend of L would be absolute."

The ghost ran his thumb along a pale lip. "I suppose, that is true... I never expected to live beyond death though." He gave her one his minute rare smiles. "Please take responsibility for giving me hope."

Annoyed, Kagome retorted, "I might not just to spite you, Ryuuzaki." But she gave him a tiny grin in return anyway.

Silence fell upon the two as they watched a couple on the sidewalk pause in their journey before entangling themselves with one another, locking lips. Kagome blushed before looking back at Ryuuzaki; the latter of which was still staring at the two.

She nudged him with an elbow. "Don't stare, you peeping E-ro. (2)"

"It's E-ru. (3)" He corrected, a passive air about him, "I thought that was a woman I knew."

"Your girlfriend?" Kagome asked in, what she hoped was, an offhand manner.

"My suspect." He whispered, taking on his traditional thinking pose. A warm weight settled beside him, making him solid once more.

Kagome stared straight ahead at the kissing couple, hissing in his ear, "You mean Kira? Should we do something?"

"No, not Kira. Besides, that is not her." Her closeness was beginning to unnerve him a little, and he was unsure why considering _he _was the one molesting _her_ half the time. That swooping feeling in his gut refused to settle down. He shivered at the sudden intense cold he felt. His pale toes were starting to feel the harsh effects of winter. Reluctantly, he forced out, "Please get off of me, you're giving me cold feet."

Offended, she opened her mouth to reprimand him before noticing his trembling. "Oh! I'm really sorry – here, I have something in my bag for that!" With an expert hand, she quickly took out a large red coat and wrapped it around the both of them. "Here. That should help a bit."

He stared at the article of clothing curiously. "Red leather? Where did you get this?" Wrapping it further around himself, he stated, "This is quite warm regardless of how thin it is – I feel like Father Christmas."

Giving off a weak chuckle, Kagome's eyes glazed over. "From...a friend. This was one of his possessions – he gave it to me when he died." Pausing, she added with a quivering voice, "It's a robe(4) made of fire rat skin."

The bleak look on her face prompted him to awkwardly wrap a long arm around her, pressing his face into her hair. "...Does this gesture put you at ease?" He mused, patting her shoulders a bit.

"Y-Yeah..." She gulped, choking down a small squeak at his touch, Inuyasha temporarily misplaced from her mind. _Don't turn red don't turn red don't turn red – dammit! _Regardless of how creepy he was, she was actually starting to think he might actually be kind of c-

_Don't go there Kagome, he stole your debit information and used it to buy himself a smorgasbord! Not to mention the pounds he made you gain while possessing you!_

She internally grimaced at the memory; the horrific realization that her favorite jeans had been a tad too tight for her liking had been all too real.

Her violent thoughts were averted as L tenderly rubbed her shoulders, at a loss for anything else to say. Kagome allowed a small smile on her quivering lips. She had promised herself that she wouldn't bawl.

"Nice of you to try to get on my good side for your own ends, Ryuuzaki."

"All's fair in love and war." He joked, his voice on the verge of mirth, secretly enjoying her subtle scent.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile...<em>

He disliked Christmas. It wasn't a hatred for the commercialized religious holiday – perhaps it was the fact that people behaved so merry when all these terrible people were running rampant? That children believed such illogical things like Santa Claus? A thought occurred to him. _But I have a Death Note, I've seen shinigami – why wouldn't something like an old man delivering gifts on flying piece of metal be odd?_

"Ooohh! Wouldn't this look so perfect on Misa Misa?"

...But most of all he hated it because Misa's enthusiasm made his ears cry for mercy.

Raito 'ho hummed' and pretended to inspect the display case. "Yes, it'll look fine on you."

The blonde model pouted, "Is that it? What about sexy or sooooo cute?" Twirling around, her earrings clacked against the leather jacket she had on.

"Yes, yes, that's right." He entwined their arms and hauled her away from the window display for the gothic shop. Misa held an iron grip on the young man's arm, as clingy as an octopus.

"Raito-kun~ What do you want for Christmas?"

"It's the 27th of December Misa, Christmas is already over," chided Raito, not even resisting the urge to roll his brown irises. Behind him, Ryuk snickered at his misfortune.

"I know! But we had to spend it with your family," oozed out the blonde girl, "I think we should get our _alone time_ too, don't you think?"

Raito's lips thinned. "Only after you finish judgement like a good girl."

The blue-faced shinigami behind them cackled madly at his previous owner's reprimanding. **Looks like someone here's the Grinch of all Grinches for Christmas. **

L the second scoffed inwardly. The elation and victorious feeling from L's death was wearing off in the coming months; there was much work and cover up to be done. Regardless, there was almost no resistance from those NPA fools. They all trusted him far too much.

_All the Yotsuba men are dead. Weddy and Aber have been taken care of merely as a precaution. I wonder if there's anything else I'm missing. _

"Raito, I really love you." Misa pressed her cheek into his arm, cheeks flushing with feminine beauty, "I'd do anything for you."

_Ah, right. _Raito forced a smile of a man blissfully in love on his face, grasping at her leather-clad arms. "Thank you Misa. It's all thanks to your eyes that we can start to live in a world of peace and prosperity."

"Oh _RAITO!"_

'**Always with the shinigami eyes...' **Ryuk commented in his mind. Looking away from the disastrous one-sided romance in front of him, his nostrils flared as he suddenly sensed an interesting power forming somewhere close by, making his very flesh crawl. **'Holy energy. ' **He recognized immediately, **'Is there a miko around here somewhere?'**

All his pent-up curiosity came about, and he scanned the area. **'I haven't seen one since at least 300 years ago. I was under the impression they all kicked the bucket and buried the gene for good.'**

The priestesses of yonder times had been known as fierce exterminators of the lesser demons; however they had never bothered to mess with any of the shinigami. As a rule, the two normally left each other alone, as they both had their own business to attend to. Besides, the old fart king from the shinigami realm had some sort of strange alliance with them: the details were, and always would be a little hazy.

'**For the past 200 years, there hasn't been a single miko that has been able to challenge us anyway.' **The shinigami sneered vehemently, looking around for the source of his thoughts.

He spotted her approximately 5 feet ahead, under a red blanket that looked worse for the wear and accompanied by a man. **'No name, and no lifespan.' **He noted, recognizing the mark of a true priestess. A very young woman, the God noted, a little startled at her age regarding the amount of power she was emanating. Most priestesses didn't reach that level of power until 40 years at the very least, and that was with a strict training regimen from birth.

Raito tried his best to keep his distance from Misa's coddling without offending her. It was her incredible luck (and her inherent naivety) that kept him from gladly scribbling her name in his book. As they passed by a raven-haired couple with their child on a park bench, he let out a small noise of strangled shock at the familiar face shape of the chuckling man.

He prompted a small side-glance at the man on the bench who had not noticed him yet, ogling. Those messy bangs of Ryuuzaki's – that pallid face – but –

Raito forced his nerves to calm. _He's dead. He's been dead for a few months. You saw them bury his body – not even L would be able to escape such an arrangement. _

He relaxed a little, clutching Misa's hand in an iron grip before turning his attention away from the pair. _One thing's for sure. _Raito thought, _Ryuuzaki would never have that kind of sincere looking smile on his face while looking at a woman._

* * *

><p>Kagome frowned as a blue winged creature sneered at her in passing.<p>

_The hell is that thing? _She wondered, squinting at its features with her head on L's shoulder. _Not a demon, not a ghost. _Her cerulean eyes roved over its blue 'fur' and skin, and the gothic-like appearance.

She squeezed L's pale hand, watching as the creature did a double-take at their appearance before cackling madly in delight. L glanced at her quivering grip, unsure what was causing her distress.

"Kagome? You look like you've seen a ghos- er, monster."

It stopped and leered at her with those great, big yellow eyes, carefully eyeing the space just above her head.

It mumbled something to its side – no, to its passing companions before turning its neck 90 degrees and staring _directly at her._ She froze, wildly wondering why she didn't bother to bring her arrows today.

It finally resigned itself to float towards her as the two humans with him walked away.

**Well now, I haven't seen one of your kind since way back in the day. **

His voice was just as raspy and unpleasant as she thought it would be. L practically jumped at the presence of the creature, who he had not seen coming, looking to Kagome to sort the matter out.

"My...kind?" Kagome whispered, the gears in her mind working furiously, "Who- What are you to know that?"

**Heheheh. ** It's demonic laughter rang throughout sidewalk, known only to those who could hear. **You're pretty clueless for a priestess, aren't you? **

"Priestess?" deadpanned the voice beside her.

The shinigami twisted its neck so fast that Kagome instinctively clenched onto the spectre's arm. At the sight of the L's face, his mask-like demeanor suddenly contorted into one of endless glee.

**Heheheh-**

**HAHAHA! **

**HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAA!**

It whipped its head around, laughing madly.

**SO YOU'RE STILL HERE, ARE YOU DETECTIVE? **

Kagome stood up without warning, dislodging the fire-rat robe from her person. She held a steady palm towards the creature, her eyes reflecting rage and a hint of fear.

**Oh, but you can give him a temporary body? **The creature snickered, **You're a rare one aren't you? Even the most well-trained priestess of the time couldn't do such a thing. This will be so enjoyable. **

"Tell me what you are." She said more bravely than she was feeling at the moment. "Or your life is forfeit right now."

But it did not have to say anything, as L was the one doing the explaining. "This is Kira's shinigami." He relinquished Kagome's arm, hovering close to the God of Death, meeting its piercing stare head on with his own, "This is the one who gave him his Death Note - his power to kill..."

**Kekeke...very good, very good for you to have figured that out. No wonder you were the only one who could ever make him lose his cool.**

Kagome looked back and forth between the two, trying to deduce the situation. "Wait, what? What's with all this shinigami, death note, being related to Kira business?" she hissed, trying not to wake up the child in her arms.

The blue-skinned one chuckled. **So you actually don't know about us. **It drew itself to its full height, looking down at the two humans. **How interesting. Any normal miko would have learned about us from a young age. **

Holding out a bony finger, he pointed at the young priestess. **I am a shinigami. One of THE Gods of Death. My name is Ryuk. Nice to meet you, holy priestess-san.**

"What business do you have here?" She demanded, her hand starting to glow a bright pink.

Ryuk shrugged, **I was so very bored. Do you know how boring it is to watch two humans do mundane things like shopping?**

"Men. No matter what race..." Muttered the priestess, feeling completely thrown out of the loop. "So wait, why are you on Earth? I thought that any kind of god has a realm they stay in."

**I was bored. **

"...That was the reason you dropped a Death Note to earth? Because you were _bored_?" The deadpan voice L gave off earlier had risen, mildly indignant at the nerve of this reaper. "I died because you were ...bored?"

**That's right. **

Kagome pursed her lips, "So, what's this...Death Note I keep hearing about?"

L smashed a thumb against his lips, chewing on the thumbnail quite viciously, "I was hoping not to tell you until you said yes. However, desperate times... it's a notebook that kills the person whose name is written in it."

**That is also correct.**

Kagome spluttered, "Anyone? That's simply...that's preposterous! The amount of power it could give someone to hold over the world-" Her words faded off as she finally put two and two together.

_Kira._

"That kind of thing..." She whispered, emotions flaring out of control, "You _gave_ it _willingly_ to a serial murderer?" In her arms, the child started to whimper subconsciously. Kagome's eyes narrowed in barely suppressed anger, but she kept her grip on the boy light.

**I didn't give it to him. **Ryuk stated, **I dropped it and he picked it up. No fault of min-**

His voice trailed off as he witnessed the young woman glowing a painfully bright pink, wisps of energy already seeking to wring his throat and purify the hell out of him.

**Wh-Whoa, easy with those things! **He stuttered, backing a good two feet away from her. Her power was no joke - where was she getting all that juice from? And then he knew, this was no ordinary priestess he had so foolishly chosen to aggravate...

Beside her, L had the sensation of feeling fairly impressed as he gazed upon the Shinigami's frightened behaviour. _Where were you in the last few months of my life, Kagome? _His own ghostly form was tingling from the pink aura she was sending out – and then suddenly he fell to the ground, completely solid once more. Steel grey eyes widened, before the detective wrestled back Kagome's violent arms.

"Kagome, calm yourself." He whispered into her ear, hoping to catch her off guard. It worked; she

She gave a feral growl that he did not know she was capable of before lowering her attacking hand slowly. "Shinigami – God of Death – Ryuk!" Kagome declared, not minding the stares coming her way from the few pedestrians, "I _will _undo this little stunt you pulled. So mark my words – your little game will come undone soon."

Ryuk's face remained as impassive as ever. **I look forward to it... Kagome. **

And with that last challenge, the shinigami's wings spread wide, flapping down swiftly to take flight. Worry prickled his mind as he soared through the wintry weather air. If that were any other miko, he wouldn't be so panicked. However, with what he had just experienced, he had just provoked what appeared to be the strongest priestess in history.

One wrong move, one bony finger out of line...

"...YOU'RE DEAD MEAT NEXT TIME I SEE YOU, YOU HEAR-!" Kagome's cries were drowned out only by the sobbing of the kitsune child in her arms and the shrieking wind.

**And I might just find myself ceasing to exist. **Ryuk reasoned grimly. **  
><strong>

* * *

><p>AN:

And that's Chapter 5. Plot plot plot? Yeah, maybe a little.

I'll be having less chances to write because of school so updates may be a problem. And once more, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed, you guys keep my spirits up!

(1) Yuki-onna: Snow woman/demon.

(2)Ero: pervert

(3) Eru: Japanese pronunciation of L's name. (Punny?)

(4) Fire rat robe: Inuyasha's choice of garb when he was alive. How he died? You'll know later.

_**KungFuWitch: Thank you! No promises on update schedules unfortunately. :(**_

_**Yorukifon: He's so silly. :)**_

_**Bloodcherry: He didn't end up telling her - he doesn't want to die after being killed. XD Thank you for the encouragement!**_

_**midnight98: Thank you! And yes, he sure did - didn't want to write in the scene completely as I'm not so good with gory crime scenes. X3**_

_**Geniusly-Unique: The 1/200 chance to pick a sweet out of a bag and it was the last box of Pocky. Poor L. **_

_**Ariz0na-Sky: Thanks a lot!**_

_**Applejax XD: Well...he...was feeling ill? *sweeps inconsistency with L's genius under the rug* _;**_

_**Kagome pairing: Thanks! Hmm, I wonder what'll happen? Don't touch that dial~**_

_**The-Dark-Love-Writer: Thank you so much! As for L's ghostliness, it may or may not get resolved somehow. Sorry I can't go any further into detail or I spoil things... :(**_

And as always, reviews, questions, and comments are welcome!


	7. Chapter 6

A/N:

Sorry for the wait - moving and getting everything ready for school took quite a while.

Unfortunately it looks like that trend might continue. So much work to be done. :(

On the brighter side, I also have some one-shots in progress, which I will hopefully have up (relatively) soon. Please keep a look-out for them on my profile page!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note and Inuyasha.**

* * *

><p>L's mouth was agape with shock.<p>

He had never.

Ever.

_Ever._

Been so thoroughly impressed and blown away by a woman.

With Naomi Misora: very impressed by her deduction capabilities, yes.

With Misa Amane: very blown away by her stupidity and her lack of pride, yes.

But Kagome had just completely blown him out of the water, scaring away that shinigami with a mere wave of her hand.

She was _the _best ally he had in this situation. Forget the NPA, the CIA, or the FBI. All he needed was a certain emotional, easily excitable, stubborn and yet oddly refreshing priestess.

_Perhaps there is a god other than a shinigami standing behind me. _He thought dryly.

The shinigami flew further and further away, the noise of its dreadful wings flapping becoming a ripple in the night. Despite his normal cynical nature, he could feel the anticipation bubbling in his ghostly chest. L turned back towards the miko, "Kagome, that was-"

"_Wh-Wh-What have I just done..."_ came a terrified squeak.

L gazed upon the stiff board that was Kagome.

"I messed with a god...no, a god of death... am...am I going to die? Silly, of course I am, he's _a _god of death? What _is _a god of death anyway? Does that mean he can kill me on the spot?"

Her sinister mumbling under her breath was starting to make an increasingly large dent in his hopes.

He was slightly perturbed by her behaviour; she was never anything less than strong in front of him. To see her so vulnerable, that was...

_Actually, it's kind of insightful. _He thought, amused, but for once in his life, was unsure how to handle a situation.

"You'll learn." The ghostly detective said aloud, as if to reassure himself, "Let's get going. You'll need as much knowledge as possible to defeat Kira – I'll tell you all I know."

* * *

><p>It wasn't before they had stumbled into Kagome's home once more that L realized that Kagome had an extra unwanted guest (apart from him). The boy in her arms had awoken and started sobbing uncontrollably.<p>

"How did I forget about you?" L questioned himself aloud, irritation growing. "This is the worst time to have memory lapses."

"I'm not yoouu." The young boy corrected him childishly, "My name is Ashi."

_...He can see me?_

Kagome heaved a huge sigh, the after chill leaving her feeling faint. "Does it matter anyway... if I'm going to be-"

"You are _not _going to die if I have anything to say about it." Came L's airy voice. "And if you were going to be killed by him you would have died already."

He looked directly into her startled eyes, assessing her emotional state. "Do you want to defeat Ryuk?"

Kagome's sapphire orbs reflected rage. "Of course! That guy, his careless attitude over the murder of people, how he taunted you for your death – of course that makes me so mad, L! I don't think you deserved something so terrible!"

L blinked. So her blind fury was partly because 'Ryuk' had been taunting him...

He turned away quickly so she wouldn't see the light dusting of pink on his cheeks.

L cleared his throat, trying to keep the bliss out of his monotone voice. "Well, of course he did. I lost the game, after all."

"You still think that this is a game?"

"Somewhat, yes."

"If you hadn't noticed, you were offed while 'playing'."

"It's like chess, ne? The Queen comes back after the pawn reaches the end-"

"I'm not the pawn –"

"But don't you think I'm ever so Queenlike-"

"_WAAAAAAHHHHH!"_

The two jumped at the increasingly loud cries of Ashi.

"Oh...don't cry..." Kagome whispered, eyes filled to the brim with hurt, "We'll find your mother. You just have to stay with us until then."

L looked down upon them. "You seem to have a soft spot for children."

"Well, not children...well, maybe a little. But kitsune will always have a special place in my heart." She snuggled the young child, smiling in relief when he started laughing with that laughter only mischievous fox spirit children could produce.

"...And why is that?"

Kagome stiffened. Was she really emotionally ready to spill all the beans? She twiddled her thumbs, slowly trying to come upon a decision.

L crouched down to her level with hard eyes. "I'll figure it out anyway. If we're going to be working together, isn't it important for us to trust each other? And that will only help us catch Kira in the end if you can give me useful information." He hovered there, watching as her eyes showed signs of confusion, wistfulness and finally, heart-wrenching grief.

"It's... a long story. It's been a while since I've had to tell someone, L." Kagome whispered, eyes wetting. "If I tell you the truth, you might think I'm loony."

"I consider myself special then. Please go on – things with you can't get any crazier than they are now."

She gave a shaky laugh. "I guess it started four years ago... I was a normal girl. Before...I fell down a well and was transported to the time period 500 years in the past."

At his raised eyebrows, she defended herself, "It's true! And I...I found out I was a priestess after I unsealed a half-demon. I was a priestess whose sole duty was to protect something called the Jewel of Four Souls."

"Half-demon, priestess, jewel of four souls. Ok."

"But I...uhm... accidentally split it into immeasurable pieces?"

Silence. "...The half demon, or the jewel?"

"Jewel, wiseguy." Kagome felt her tongue loosening up a bit more at his verbal antics, finding it a bit easier to talk, "Long story short, the rest of my trip there was gathering the rest of the pieces with a demon exterminator, a monk, that half-demon, and a kitsune child."

L nodded, silently taking note of her hands stroking the child's head.

"Along the way, we discovered that there was another half-demon gathering pieces of the jewel to make himself more powerful too. So I suppose our task became to defeat him? But he gathered them much quicker than we did...so we had one final battle and-"

She paused, for what L thought was dramatic effect.

"... I think... he was too strong – they all died..." The heavy weight that was normally in her heart when she remembered their deaths was missing. She couldn't even picture the scene. "...I was sent forward in time again because...of a time...portal that...Inuyasha made with his sword?"

Kagome completely halted her speech, grasping at her remaining memories of the event. There were none. None that she could picture. It was as if someone had taken an idea and crammed it inside her mind, forcing her to swallow its lies. She was getting a nagging feeling that there was something incredibly wrong. It had been a while since it happened, but forgetting something this important...

"Inuyasha?" L questioned.

"The half-demon."

"I see. So what happened to the Jewel of Four Souls?"

"Oh, that? It-"

Complete and utter silence.

L's eyes grew rounder. "Don't be shy, go on."

Kagome closed her eyes, far more calm than she thought she would be. "...I don't know."

"_Are you sure you want to do this Kagome?"_

_She nodded, her blood streaked raven hair thrown about carelessly. "I won't let it go how Naraku wants. Please, just...do it Kaede." She held out her hands as if begging her to handcuff them. _

_The old woman looked so very tired. "You've ... you've all said your goodbyes then?"_

_Around them, her four friends stood with anxious and teary eyes. _

"_Kagome-chan...Kagome-chan..." Sango whispered, Miroku's arms around her shoulder. _

"_Kagome-sama... please... take care." The monk brought the demon slayer closer to his side. "Always be on your guard – remember what I taught you... if you can."_

_And then Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something, but she couldn't quite make out the words... _

Kagome let out a cry, disturbing the young one in her lap. What was _that_? She didn't remember that! Rather, they had all died before she had even gotten a chance to say goodbye... didn't they? Her entire body shook. Had that memory been a figment of her imagination? But the pain, the agony, the smell of blood...it was all so real. What was factual and what was false...were her initial memories even real from the start?

_What really happened, that day...?_

A jab to her temple brought her out of her reverie. "Don't go dazing off after leaving me hanging." L's soft tone chimed in her ear.

She jumped at how close he was; his lips were so close to hers that if he were still alive, she'd term it sexual harassment. Ignoring her growing blush, she stood up, determined not to look him in the eye, or at least let him see that he was getting to her. "...I don't think I really know what happened that day."

"...One doesn't just get beat by a bad guy and not remember."

"_I know that!_" She snapped, "But this wasn't a game! This was a life or death situation! What if this was one of Naraku's damned illusions...oh...Sango...Miroku...Shippo...Inuyasha...I'm so sorry for not being able to remember..." The priestess collapsed onto the floor, close to tears.

L was torn between showing mercy or pressing her further for information. One wrong move and she might not agree to help again. Still, despite his ruthless thoughts, a small seed of pity sprouted for the young woman. He hadn't quite been told the whole story, but he could from looking at her that those people had been incredibly important.

After a moment's silence, the kitsune boy in her arms looked up at her with frightened, yet inquisitive eyes. "You know my grandpa?"

"Gran-" Kagome was flabbergasted, toiling over his question in her mind, "Grandpa- you mean Shippo-chan?"

"Shippo-oji-chan!" The child repeated.

Kagome wiped the liquid from her eyes, giving the child an incredulous stare. "Is he... still alive?"

The smallest hope wormed its way into her heart, and she dared not to even question it.

At the kitsune boy's nod, she hit her breaking point, bawling enough water to fill the Pacific Ocean in front of an amused looking L.

* * *

><p><em>(One week later)<em>

Light filtered through the numerous windows as the vehicle began its descent down the highway. Kagome sat in the very back of the bus, with Ashi, and unknowingly to the bus driver, a dead insomniac.

"Ashi-kun, please tell me all about your family then." Kagome inquired kindly, an eager glimmer in her blue orbs.

The kitsune climbed into her arms – just like Shippo had – and snuggled close. Her heart melted at the sight, and she felt like she had just been reunited with a small piece of the past.

"Mama travels around the world." Ashi explained proudly, "She says that what she's doing is important for the future of mankind."

"Is that right..." Kagome mused, wondering whether his mother was a kitsune too. "What about your dad?"

"He stays at home with me!" Cried out the young boy, looking especially exuberant, "He's always telling me I shouldn't go outside." He set his voice low, whispering gleefully, "He doesn't have a tail and ears. He's sooo weird!"

Kagome let out a chuckle. "Is that so? That means your grandpa has both too then?"

"Yup, yup, that's right! Wooow I can see the farms from here!"

L hovered above them, sticking his head through the roof of the bus. As expected, it wasn't very exciting. He observed the rolling hills passing by at a furious speed and sighed. What was the word for this...oh yes.

_Sidetracked. _

He pouted like a child. The lack of progress on the Kira investigation frustrated him to no end.

_All because of one lost child..._

Although thanks to Kagome's little story-telling sessions of the past to little Ashi, he was able to figure out how her powers operated. That knowledge would no doubt come in handy one day – he might even start training her so she got the hang of it. They were really quite amazing – the way they worked, she could do so many things with them. _So many things. _

_And just maybe, I can start eating sweets again... _ He whined inside his mind. Already he was starting to suffer some mental withdrawals.

Training someone with spiritual powers when he had _just _started believing in the supernatural...he wondered vaguely if he could do it.

As the bus drove along, he took note of a large building coming up in the distance. Considering it was the only building in the area, he assumed it was their stop.

He floated down, calmly telling the two, "I think we're almost here. Is that your home, Ashi?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

As they exited the bus, L heard Kagome ask the child how he had ended up in a location 40 kilometers from his living quarters.

"Mama forgot me when she teleported back, hehe..."

* * *

><p>"...Ne, Ashi-kun, are you sure we have the right place...?"<p>

"Uh-huh! This is my house!"

"...This is rather large."

L's observation was a definite understatement; the main building towered more than 4 stories high, covering a massive amount of land. Surrounding the gate were numerous gold statues of different gods. Kagome eyed them critically, rather impressed at the amount of detail – perhaps Shippo had taken part in their design?

Ashi ran through the front door, yelling for his mother.

Kagome and L stood there, shell-shocked.

"Uhm... I guess we should follow him?" Kagome murmured, still reeling from the effect that the giant mansion gave.

"We came all this way, you may as well get closure."

Kagome flushed fiercely as the detective's words struck home, "This wasn't about the closur-"

Her words died off as L grasped her hand with his own clammy one. "Lies. And I dislike it when you lie." He gave her a minute upturn of his lips, "Be more honest – that suits you much better."

"Oh..." Kagome was utterly sure that her entire face had gone beet red, "Is that right... then... let's go, shall we, you ...uhm..."

She dragged him robotically throughout the hall, ineffectively trying to hide her embarrassed face. L chuckled softly. Too much fun to tease. _Well, I suppose this has its benefits too. _He thought as he gave her hand a soft squeeze – she squeaked at the sudden pressure.

"Fufufufufu-"

"Oh shut your trap, you talking corpse!"

He had her laughing again within the next ten steps, and they hardly noticed when they ran into the end of the hallway leading into the first room of the house.

"I'll show _you _energetic, you little...ah..." Kagome finally registered where they were, once again amazed at the amount of decor. The tapestries hung from the ceiling gave the room a traditional feeling, wrapping it in their warm colors. "Oh they have writing too." She walked closer to have a better look.

"'To my good friend," she read, "You old dog, your red robe will... always... "

Beside her, L watched in slight alarm as her eyes became as round as macaroons.

"... resound in my heart... as loud as your yells... as thunderous as your Wind Scar..."

Her breath hitched. _Inuyasha..._

She fully absorbed the room now, her enthusiasm resembling a person dying of thirst. There were four tapestries in all, one draped on every wall. Running to the next one, she found an inscription describing a young woman.

"Your bravery and resourcefulness was my saviour many times over. Your knowledge and expertise deemed you worthy of respect. Your strong will still shakes me to the core... And your deep love for the people around you never lost to anyone."

_Sango-chan... oh Shippo, was this all you?_

"To the one that needed many heirs, you weren't always moral, but you never failed to be reliable in a pinch." L was on the other side of the room, reading from the third hanging. "The heart and hand that envelops everyone, you will always be a very dear friend."

As one, the two turned to the last tapestry.

"To my friend, my companion, my mother..." L said softly, deliberately keeping his eyes away from the young miko, "Thank you for your sacrifice. I will always be waiting for you and I hope I can see you again someday."

A sound that suspiciously resembled a sniffle echoed throughout the whole room.

The detective stood there awkwardly, completely baffled on what to do next. Women were one of the things in life that could not be understood by reading about them.

_How does one comfort a woman in this situation..._L pondered as her sobbing became a steady downpour.

But before he could put his master plan 'Hug-to-comfort' into operation, a black and orange blur whizzed by him and knocked the crying miko to the floor, ripping apart his hand contact with her.

"Kagome! Little Ashi told me you were here!"

L took a moment to absorb a young tall, orange haired man with a boyishly handsome face pinning the shocked priestess to the ground. A quiet, unpleasant feeling settled in his gut at their closeness. Completely through instinct, he placed a pallid hand on the stranger's broad shoulders after grabbing Kagome's hand once more.

"I don't think she appreciates that gesture." He said bluntly. "Please get off of her."

The mischievous looking man looked up at L, taking his bizarre features into account. Slowly, he rose to his feet, ranking a good half a foot taller than the spectre. His tails swished to and fro – _wait, tails? _"Who are you to command me what to do?" He said slowly, emerald eyes piercing through the ghost's deadpan orbs.

L 's frown grew, knowing a challenge when he saw one. "I'm..."

"Ryuuzaki, it's ok." Kagome stood up shakily, not taking her eyes off the man who had practically molested her, "He's not a threat."

The ghostly detective personally did not agree with her statement, but he kept his darker thoughts to himself.

"Shippo?" Kagome inquired, pleading him for an answer with her eyes.

The ginger haired man gave her a toothy grin, freckles and all. His sharp forest green eyes filled with tears. "Kagome-mama. I missed you."

* * *

><p>"And then they had their fifth child." Shippo guffawed, gulping down the rest of his sake with vigour, "By that time Sango was swamped with household duties and made Miroku occasionally stay home with the kids."<p>

"Ahh~ That's Sango-chan for you! She probably went out to slay demons herself when she had the chance!" Kagome giggled.

"Probably." Shippo drawled, "Meanwhile Mayuri and I had started to get a bit serious about each other."

"Oh, is that your wife's name?"

"Haha, nope, my wife is Shichiru. It was just a fond memory~ She was my 3rd girlfriend, Mayuri-chan~"

Kagome sweatdropped. As a kitsune adult, Shippo was incredibly naughty and tricky; she had missed the transition between personalities as he grew up. Inside of her, there was a deep regret of not being able to be there for him – especially when he needed it. She gave his outfit another look-over: a crisp, clean suit coupled with a necktie. Such an adult form of dress...

He was so different compared to the small child she had known back then. Age-wise he only looked around 30, but he had had children _and _a grandchild. Demons really did age differently from humans.

There was a silence as she contemplated what to say.

"Shippo... tell me, what happened when we faced Naraku?"

The hearty smile on the kitsune's face slipped. "You don't remember?" He put the cup back down on the table, his expression bordering on grim. "You _still_ don't remember?"

"No..." Kagome murmured, completely taken aback by the sudden change of attitude, "It's only been two years since I was sent back to this time... in my perspective, that is."

Shippo tugged on his necktie wearily, fiddling with the knot noiselessly.

Beside the two, L hovered above the couch, "Just tell her. She's been kept on the edge for over two years now." His monotone voice cut through the awkwardness. Kagome gave him a grateful look.

Shippo sighed. "Well, you weren't _meant_ to remember anyway." He put his cup down, reverting to a more serious tone. "Kagome-mama, you must have suffered so much. You thought we all died and you were the lone survivor of the battle."

Kagome nodded. When she had seen Shippo, it was like a huge dam of relief had broken within her. And yet, she was so confused and scared – what had really happened that day?

"...You chose to lose your memories, Kagome. You wanted to remember that day as a huge failure."

Kagome bit her lip in surprise and tasted blood. "That sounds like just about the most masochistic thing I've ever heard. Why would I do that?"

"Naraku." Shippo said simply, "We were able to kill him alright. But...when you and Inuyasha were sucked into the jewel, the rest of us weren't sure what happened." He drew in a breath, looking his actual age, "How you got out of there – maybe it was sheer luck, or the love you two had for one another –"

Kagome blushed while L stumbled in mid-air.

"- but you both exited all the same. And then you told me...no, us..."

The priestess waited with bated breath. What had she done? What was the crucial point she was forgetting?

"...That you needed to completely forget what had happened in there."

Kagome fell over, completely not expecting that anti-climactic ending.

Shippo laughed at her slumped form, "You never told us what went on in there! You just said you needed to forget or Naraku would win his sick little game!"

The priestess pursed her lips, the question dancing at the edge of her tongue. "Then...did I tell you what happened to the jewel?"

The kitsune shook his head. "Never did. I think Inuyasha also knew what happened, but well... he disappeared a few weeks after Kaede sent you back to your time with your altered memories. He gave you his fire rat robe because he thought you'd need it more than he did."

"That explains the random vision I had before!" She blurted out, stomach sinking. So only she and Inuyasha had seen what transpired inside the cursed jewel. And he was probably... she shook her head, trying to shake that thought out of her head.

"Not good..." Shippo drawled out, ears twitching in amusement, "The point is, you're not _supposed_ to remember yet. I only wanted you to remember that you've forgotten something. You sacrificed your well being for us."

He sat up and kissed the startled priestess' hand. "You are one of the most noble and selfless people I've met."

"...News flash." L cut in, looking as if he had just swallowed something incredibly repulsive, "You try to remind her that she forgot something, she might end up remembering whatever she had resigned to forget. Kagome, leave it be."

Shippo's emerald eye twitched. "Kagome, who is this guy? Why the hell does he keep butting in?"

"Eh, well..." Kagome started, not entirely sure how to explain the whole Kira situation but L had already opened his mouth.

"I'm her boyfriend." He wasn't sure why he said what he did, but it fell out of his lips before he could fully register what had happened.

Shippo's expression was priceless. It ranged from somewhere in between flabbergasted to knocked-over-the-head-silly. The cup he was holding cracked in his clawed hands and his eye started twitching non-stop.

"Ryuuzaki!" Kagome scolded, cheeks hot as cinders.

The detective's mind grabbed a hold of his tongue, and he reluctantly corrected himself. "...Actually, she's helping me solve a case." He admitted, "Being her boyfriend is cover."

But at that point Shippo had stopped listening, opting instead to shake Kagome's shoulders in denial. "_Kaaaagggooommmeeeeeeee! Why are you dating a dead man? Are you secretly a necrophiliac? But you were so innocent before! Was it him? Did he seduce you into agreeing to be with him? Did he force you to do things you didn't want to do?_"

Kagome gave the spectre a heated glare that screamed:

You.

Make.

My.

Life.

So.

_Goddamned Difficult._

* * *

><p>After all of the grown kitsune's bawling and L's unnecessary comments (which only served to fuel Shippo's anxieties), Kagome was relieved to find herself stepping out of the front gates. Regardless, she had been completely pleased at their antics. "Shippo-chan...it was so great to see you again. I can't tell you how happy I was to hear about you and everyone..."<p>

Shippo's fluffy tail wagged in glee. "I was happy to hear about you too, Kagome-mama – I was looking for you in different school registries, but I guess you dropped out."

"Yeah... the demon-slaying demand was pretty high and the amount of butt-whooping given was pretty low."

The older kitsune gave her a sly smile. "Always thinking about everyone over yourself. That's why you're my legendary mama after all."

Kagome gave him a tentative smile. Was she really as great as he had made her out to be? She didn't feel particularly noteworthy or self-sacrificing; she had just done what she thought was best. Or... at least, that's what she thought she did it for.

"We better get going. Last bus leaves soon." L reminded her somewhat gruffly.

"Ah~ Just a minute!" Shippo called out after the two. "I want to talk to Ryuuzaki-san about something!"

Kagome looked apprehensively behind her, but L nodded and made a motion to shoo her off.

"What is it?" He asked as soon as Kagome was out of sight.

"Ryuuzaki-san..." Shippo began, "I'm trusting you to take very good care of Kagome-mama."

"Of course I will, she's my partner."

The kitsune sighed dramatically, shaking his head and shrugging. With half-lidded eyes, L gave a tiny pout. "Please say what you wanted to say already or I'll just take my leave."

"Ok, ok~" And then suddenly, Shippo's emerald eyes became hard and frigid. "Protect her, Ryuuzaki. Protect her with every fiber of the body you _don't _have. Don't let anything happen to her. Naraku's work here isn't done, there are still demons and scary things running around."

"...I know." L replied, his dead eyes gazing into the distance, a thumb over his lips. "She's had to go through a lot by herself – but I'll be with her now."

"Please." Shippo said eagerly, liking the ghost more with every passing second, "And remember, be gentle with her first time~ She went through a lot with her previous love~"

"...Inuyasha?" The name gave the ghost a bad taste in his mouth. And he didn't even have senses anymore.

"Yes, him. Speaking of him." The kitsune glanced around cautiously, "Don't let him near Kagome-mama as well. If those two got together, who knows what would happen..."

L's hidden eyebrows raised. "Was he an abusive person?"

Shippo pouted. "You're no fun. Can't you have a more over-active imagination, like a hidden affair? But well, in a sense. This is a totally different matter though. If he comes into contact with her...she might end up remembering what she wanted so desperately to forget."

"And if that happens..." L said slowly, starting to understand the tribulations that awaited him and his partner.

"Naraku wins, comes back to life, and he gets the all powerful Shikon no Tama. Don't let them meet under _any _circumstance, Ryuuzaki. "

* * *

><p>AN: **DONE DONE DONE**. Now to scurry back to the textbook reading. And maybe sleeping.

L-bus, L-bus~ Probably going to make a picture of L-bus and put it as my avatar later. OTL

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! You guys really encourage me to keep going~ I'm not too sure if L was a bit OOC here, but I'm chalking it off as him being dead and...having less inhibitions about things. Like having feelings. And liking people.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Misa-hater, L would just probably find her really... not all that bright.

Also, (not-so) secret question here: would it be a bit squicky for a lemon to happen between the two? I mean, he _is _kind of dead. But on the other hand, she gives him a completely human body when she touches him. Ehh...thoughts? No promises on having one in detail, but I'm considering it a bit. I'll change the rating if I decide to put a little lime in. But only if enough people are ok with it... *shrug*

If any of this was confusing, _please_ let me know so I can do some editing for this chapter. I'd like for it all to be easily understandable - it's the perfectionist side in me! _

**_SilverMidnightKitten: Thanks! I'll do my best to update often, though no promises haha.  
><em>**

**_atanimefreak: Thank you! This chapter was (a bit) longer than normal to make up for away-time.  
><em>**

**_Sugar0o : Thanks for all your reviews! *happily takes co0kie* It's addictive... must update for more co0kies...  
><em>**

_**midnight98: Thank you! That he did - he needs to learn to stop taunting people. Especially in front of the so-called underdog miko.  
><strong>_

_**Bloodcherry: Indeed he did! He's terrifying, getting kicks out of turning humans against one another. I hope I have a chance to give him just-desserts later.  
><strong>_

_**Kagome pairing: Thank you for your kind words! Heh, I updated my profile with my gender, but not too much else I'm afraid. x3 Regarding L coming back, I do have a plan for that...sort of. Please stay tuned~  
><strong>_


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